directly with employers helps steer them toward long - term, steady employment. conclusion in conclusion, i am proud that the federal reserve is contributing to the efforts of the p - tech program in the rochester area and i look forward to the video presentations we will have shortly. i want to congratulate in advance the winners of the video competition, who will also be announced shortly. i also want to congratulate all of you for being part of a 21st century education program that will help connect you to pathways of opportunity and help enable you to make important contributions to the vitality of your community. 1 i am grateful to heidi kaplan for her assistance in preparing this text. the remarks represent my own views, which do not necessarily represent those of the federal reserve board or the federal open market committee. 2 p - tech is short for pathways in technology early college high. 3 see lael brainard, “ coming of age in the great recession, ” speech given to the federal reserve ’ s conference on “ economic mobility : research and ideas on strengthening families, communities, and the economy, ” april 2, 2015. 4 for more information on the working cities challenge, see www. bostonfed. org / communitydevelopment / smaller - industrial - cities / working - cities - challenge. aspx. for the dallas fed ’ s work on closing the digital divide, see www. dallasfed. org / cd / pubs. aspx. for the atlanta fed ’ s center for workforce and economic opportunity, see www. frbatlanta. org / cweo. aspx. and on the investing in america ’ s workforce initiative, see www. investinwork. org. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

resource for regional job information. finally, the local government has worked to contend with a long - term loss of jobs in manufacturing and a more recent loss of jobs in professional services by attracting investment in a world - class photonics hub in rochester. i often meet with people who run large companies to get their take on the strength of the economy. whereas a few years ago, they might not have been engaged in a lot of hiring, today they tell me that it is becoming more challenging to find well - qualified workers for the job openings they want to fill. that ’ s good news for those of you participating in the p - tech program. it means employers are looking for graduates of programs just like yours, which are attuned to the job opportunities of employers. p tech rochester programs offer students professional mentors, job shadowing opportunities, and on - the - job experience to ensure that they are ready to contribute positively to the workplaces of local employers. i also understand that companies are investing more in on - the - job training and are strengthening efforts to retain more of the workers they attract, which means younger workers — such as p tech graduates — have a better chance of securing jobs that lead to long - lasting careers. by any measure, the market for younger workers today looks much better than it did in the years just after the great recession, when unemployment rates for teenagers were above 20 percent. 3 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches in fact, firms are turning more and more to programs like p - tech to help them find and train the workers they need. so the skills you are gaining today are likely to provide pathways not only to the jobs of today but also the careers of the future. workforce development the federal reserve bank of new york is one of the facilitators of the leading the way campaign. the federal reserve system has a long - standing interest in understanding labor market dynamics and promoting workforce development opportunities. programs like this help workers prepare for jobs and help firms invest in workforce development. together, these efforts help make the economy more productive and help us achieve our goal of maximum employment. in addition to the federal reserve bank of new york ’ s efforts, the federal reserve bank of boston is learning about labor markets in small industrial cities through their working cities challenge and the federal reserve bank of dallas has focused on the importance of infrastructure including broadband for economic inclusion. the federal reserve bank of atlanta has been a leader within the federal reserve system in establishing the investing in america