Ceridian's information services businesses serve a variety of customers in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. For employees of the Arbitron Company, the media research business of Ceridian, honing a particular analytical or technical skill is not enough to convince a cable company in England that you understand their advertising needs. Continuous learning that exposes employees to different cultures and new ideas, and fosters innovative thinking and problem-solving abilities, is the key to getting and retaining diverse customer business. Sustained economic growth depends on workers being able to continuously upgrade their education and skill levels. That's why employers serious about maintaining a competitive edge are incorporating principles of lifelong learning into their corporate strategies and values.
Employers have a direct interest in ensuring the best-educated workforce.
Lifelong learning ensures not only a high-skilled technical workforce, but also better educated workers able to meet the competitive challenges of a borderless world. Mr. Chairman, despite the necessity of higher education and training, workers often lack access to educational opportunities. As part of Ceridian's commitment to lifelong learning, section 127 has been an effective tool to breaking down cost barriers and creating new opportunities to pursue education that may not be directly job-related. Although most companies' tuition assistance policies do not provide 100 percent of the total tuition cost, employer provided assistance through section 127 helps. The value of section 127 could be even greater if this important tuition assistance provision was applicable to graduate education and was made permanent law.