LANSING – A bipartisan plan proposed by State Representative Richard E. Hammel (D-Mt. Morris Township) to create good-paying jobs by enabling community colleges to train residents for specific employers has been signed into law by the Governor.
"To help existing businesses expand and to attract new ones to our communites, we have to provide the trained workers that meet their specific needs," said Hammel, who is Chair of the House Appropriations Economic Development Subcommittee. "The New Jobs Training Program will bring community colleges and employers together to give residents these specialized skills. This business incentive is a creative tool that we can use right away to address employers' needs for skilled workers."
Hammel's plan, which passed both the state House of Representatives and Senate almost unanimously, enables companies that are creating new jobs to contract with community colleges to provide specialized training to the residents they are hiring. Those new workers will receive the training at no charge. In return, once the employees start working, the company will redirect a portion of their income tax payments to the community college in order to repay the training costs.
A similar program in Iowa has helped attract more than 2,000 projects and create more than 138,000 new jobs since it was established, some of which pay salaries averaging more than $40,000 a year.
"Producing a high-quality workforce and creating good-paying jobs go hand in hand, and this program recognizes that," Hammel said. "The New Jobs Training Program is one solution that can help residents who may not be able to afford training while giving businesses incentives to create jobs in our communities."