October 16, 2009
In radio address, governor says program achieves goal 10 months ahead of schedule
LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today celebrated a milestone in the state's No Worker Left Behind program: more than 100,000 people have now enrolled in the job-training program.
"We launched No Worker Left Behind in August 2007 as part of our plan to transform Michigan's economy," Granholm said. "No Worker Left Behind provides qualifying participants two years of free tuition up to $10,000 at any Michigan community college, university, or other approved training program."
"People in the No Worker Left Behind program train for jobs in high demand and in emerging industries," Granholm continued. "Our goal was to enroll 100,000 people in three years. We've reached that goal 10 months ahead of schedule, with enrollment now topping 102,000 people."
Granholm noted that a new study shows that 650,000 "middle-skill" jobs are projected for Michigan by 2016, about half of all job openings. Middle-skill jobs are those that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree.
"That underscores the importance of a program like No Worker Left Behind," Granholm said. "As we continue working to diversify Michigan's economy and creating new jobs, people have to equip themselves with the necessary education and marketable skills."
"During this month's celebration of 100,000 people enrolled for job training through the No Worker Left Behind program, you may want to check out the program yourself," Granholm said. "For more information, visit your local Michigan Works! agency or the No Worker Left Behind Web site at www.michigan.gov/nwlb- No Worker Left Behind."
The governor's weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state. The address is available on the governor's Web site at (
www.michigan.gov/gov
) for download, together with a clip of the quote above. The radio address is also available as a podcast on the Web site, as well as on iTunes and via RSS feed for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers. Links to the audio files and text of today's address follow.
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
Radio Address - NWLB
Hello, this is Governor Jennifer Granholm.
One-hundred thousand and counting. That's the number of people who have enrolled for job training through Michigan's No Worker Left Behind program. One-hundred thousand people.
We launched No Worker Left Behind in August 2007 as part of our plan to transform Michigan's economy. No Worker Left Behind provides qualifying participants two years of free tuition up to $10,000 at any Michigan community college or university or other approved training program.
People in the No Worker Left Behind program train for jobs in high demand and in emerging industries. These include jobs in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, health care and biotechnology.
So our goal was to enroll 100,000 people in three years. We've reached that goal 10 months ahead of schedule, with enrollment now topping 102,000 people. We're celebrating this achievement with special No Worker Left Behind events throughout the state this month. On Tuesday, I was at Delta College in University Center to meet current and past students in Delta's Fast Start Program, a No Worker Left Behind program.
The Fast Start Program is a great example of an effective partnership between the public and private sectors. On the public side are Delta College, the Great Lakes Bay Michigan Works! agency, and the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. And on the private side are four companies: Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, Evergreen Solar, and Hemlock Semiconductor.
This partnership developed a training program to address the need for chemical process operators by the four companies. Chemical process operators work on cutting-edge technology like creating the photovoltaic material used in solar panels.
So in the first two training classes, 37 of the 40 people who completed the program are now employed at one of the four companies - an employment rate, by the way, of 93 percent. This fall, nearly 50 more students are going to be trained to be chemical process operators.
And as we continue working to diversify Michigan's economy and creating new jobs, people have to equip themselves with the necessary education and marketable skills. A new study that was out this week shows that 650,000 "middle-skill" jobs are projected for Michigan by the year 2016, about half of all job openings. Middle-skill jobs are those that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree. And that underscores the importance of a program like No Worker Left Behind.
During this month's celebration of 100,000 people enrolled for job training through the No Worker Left Behind program, you may want to check out the program yourself. For more information, visit your local Michigan Works! agency or the No Worker Left Behind Web site at www.michigan.gov/nwlb- No Worker Left Behind.
Thank you for listening.
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