October 28, 2005

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today attended the Southeast Michigan Employment, Training and Family Resource Expo held at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. The expo brings together Granholm’s MI Opportunity Partnership and local initiatives to match unemployed workers with jobs.

 “To jumpstart Michigan’s economy and help working families across this state, we must do everything we can to match workers who need jobs with companies that need workers,” said Granholm. “This expo today is about finding the good paying jobs for people and putting them to work now.”

The expo features space for over 100 health and human service agencies that will provide help with job training, transportation, substance abuse, housing and other critical services that can create barriers for steady employment.

The MI Opportunity Partnership, unveiled by the Governor in her State of the State Address in February, is an effort to connect unemployed citizens with high-demand job vacancies with a goal of placing 30,000 people in jobs this year. More than 250,000 employers were contacted in May and asked to pledge current job openings to the MI Opportunity program.  As of this week, almost 24,000 jobs have been pledged and more than 12,000 positions have been filled.

Through MI Opportunity Partnership, the Granholm Administration has also invested $17 million in accelerated training for high demand health care professionals. This investment will train more than 1,200 workers today and will expand the state’s ability to prepare Michigan citizens for vital health care jobs tomorrow.  In addition, accelerated training is being conducted through four Regional Skills Alliance pilots to train 271 individuals in welding, construction trades, and basic health care occupations. To date, 201 of these individuals have completed training and 134 of them have become employed.

Expo partners include the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Macomb County Department of Human Services, Oakland County Department of Human Services, Wayne County Department of Human Services, Southeast Michigan United Way, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Workforce Development Board, Habitat for Humanity, Inforum, International Union--UAW, Macomb/St. Clair Workforce Development Board,  Oakland County Workforce Development Board,  Plante Moran, Southeast Michigan Community Alliance, and Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG).