*  *  *  I thank you for the invitation to speak at this impressive conference and am honored to have the opportunity to start the program. I believe that conferences such as this provide an excellent forum for regulators, bankers, academics, and other practitioners to share ideas, discuss outstanding issues, and learn from one another.
As the labor market recovers, innovative workforce development programs can play important roles in anticipating future job market demands and by helping workers improve their skills to meet the requirements of businesses as they adopt more advanced technologies.