Supervisor Don Knabe delivered his annual state of Los Angeles County to a capacity crowd at a luncheon at the Long Beach Convention Center today, hosted by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

In his fifth annual address, Supervisor Knabe called for more focus on supporting businesses, creating jobs and reforming programs.  With the County’s caseloads for programs and services at an all-time high, he encouraged public/private partnerships to  put people back to work.

“With the crunch on our resources and a near doubling of our caseloads since 2007, we must be even more diligent about where our money is spent.  We may not be able to solve the world’s financial crisis, but we can get our own house in order,“ Knabe said.  Citing examples of workforce training efforts between Cerritos and El Camino colleges and local auto dealerships he said, “One of the most frustrating things I read about is seeing that companies have jobs they can’t fill because workers don’t have the knowledge they need. It’s important that we all play a role in building the skills of our local workforce.  We have the largest automotive market in the country and these programs are helping young people prepare for good careers, while meeting the workforce demands of our local businesses.”

The full speech is available onlineand can be watched on Supervisor Knabe’s YouTube Channel.