Wisconsin DWD Secretary Gassman, Tech President Clancy Announce Competition For $240,000 In Grants

Madison, WI  (CompNewsNetwork) - Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development  Secretary Roberta Gassman and Wisconsin Technical College System President Dan Clancy today announced competition for $240,000 in grants as a first step in developing an innovative training program to avert skilled labor shortages by serving low wage working adults, including those who don’t have high school diplomas.  The training program is part of Wisconsin Governor Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin – The Next Steps plan.

"This funding will help develop programs to boost the skills and job prospects of low wage working adults," Secretary Gassman said. "By allowing these workers to simultaneously access adult basic education and short-term occupational training though the technical colleges, we can prepare them for high-demand occupations in manufacturing, health care and other areas facing shortages."

In his Grow Wisconsin – The Next Steps plan, Governor Doyle directed DWD and WTCS to make $240,000 in Joyce Foundation funds available to technical colleges for developing curriculum to help these low wage workers overcome barriers to better jobs and provide employers the skilled workers they need. Currently, these individuals may not even consider post-secondary technical education because of their basic education needs. The Governor’s Skills Jump Start initiative would let them complete their basic education, while getting technical training for good paying jobs in great demand.

In his next budget, Governor Doyle will seek funding to pilot the Skills Jump Start initiative. As a first step in that process, Secretary Gassman and President Clancy today opened competition among the technical colleges and their partners in training for $240,000 in grants to develop the curricula for the pilot programs that the Governor will fund in his next budget.

Skills Jump Start is part of the Regional Industry Skills Educations (RISE) initiative, a joint DWD, WTCS effort to develop new career pathways for low income adults.

"The RISE initiative is intended to make the postsecondary skills education that most people need to launch family-supporting careers more readily available to low income adults," said WTCS President Dan Clancy. "This is a first step toward connecting more adult learners with the good paying jobs that our employers need to fill."

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