LANSING – State Representative Kate Ebli (D-Monroe) said today that $15 million in state funding will be used to expand Michigan's No Worker Left Behind (NWLB) program, which is marking its first anniversary of training thousands of unemployed residents so they can land good-paying jobs available now in high-demand fields. Much of the funding will help community colleges meet the needs of these new adult learners.
"As a State Representative, my top priority is to turn our economy around and to find different ways to help Monroe County's workers secure good-paying jobs now," Ebli said. "Our community colleges are doing fantastic work in providing our displaced workers the kind of training they need to transition into good-paying jobs in rapidly growing fields. This funding boost will help train more of the hard-working men and women of Monroe County, which will attract more businesses to our state and help get our Michigan's economy back on track."
The $15 million in additional No Worker Left Behind funding is part of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) budget for 2008-2009 that was recently enacted. In addition, the state has secured $44 million in new federal funding for NWLB to train more Michigan workers.
Through NWLB, eligible Michigan residents can attend a community college or university tuition-free for two years to upgrade their skills so they can get good-paying jobs available now. More than 31,000 residents have enrolled in NWLB since the state started the program with federal funding last year. While 11,000 have finished their training, almost 9,100 Michigan residents remain on waiting lists. The state NWLB budget:
- Designates up to $5 million for adult basic education, remedial education or other training that some workers need to prepare them for post-secondary work or new careers.
- Provides up to $5 million for community colleges and other public institutions that grant associate's degrees to increase their capacity, which may mean adding space, faculty or equipment. Colleges must make competitive bids for these grants based on their need to meet local, industry-specific needs.
- Adds at least $5 million in additional tuition assistance to reduce the number of residents on waiting lists.
- Requires DLEG to provide education and training to as many federal food stamp recipients as possible in order to obtain matching federal funds and to spend the training money in such a way as to maximize financial contributions from federal, private and local sources.
"Ensuring our community colleges have the resources they need to help Monroe County's displaced workers get back on the job is vital to the success of this plan," Ebli said. "Outsourcing and downsizing have hurt Michigan's local communities, and our working families are facing difficult economic times. This plan will not only get our workers back on the job to provide a good living for their families– it will also provide Michigan's businesses with the workforce they need to secure their position in the 21st century global economy."
To find out if they are eligible for the No Worker Left Behind program, unemployed or underemployed Michigan residents should call their local Michigan Works Agency or visit www.michigan.gov/nwlb.