LANSING – Under the leadership of State Representative Richard E. Hammel (D-Mt. Morris Township), the House today passed the governor's plan to expand Michigan's program to retrain thousands of displaced workers so they can land good-paying jobs available now in high-demand fields. The plan, which passed the House and now goes to the Senate, invests $40 million in the No Worker Left Behind program, which will significantly increase the state's capacity to match Michigan residents with available jobs.
"As we work to create more good-paying jobs in Genesee County, I also want to make sure we're providing our displaced workers with the targeted training they need to move into good-paying jobs that are already available," said Hammel, who submitted the plan to the full House as chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development. "This $40 million investment is the best way to get our workers back on the job. It will also provide our businesses with the well-trained workforce they need to contribute to local and regional economic growth."
The additional NWLB money comes from the refinancing of state bond debt, not from new taxpayer dollars. Through NWLB, eligible Michigan workers can attend a community college or university for two years tuition-free to upgrade their skills so they can get good-paying jobs available in high-demand fields.
The $40 million in state money will be combined with about $37 million in federal funds that Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm used to launch the program last year. The state funds will allow NWLB to train more workers and shorten the waiting lists that have formed statewide. Last year about 18,000 residents were enrolled in the program. However, at least 11,000 workers are on waiting lists for the program at this point.
The funding is included in the budget for the state Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG), which the House Subcommittee on Economic Development approved under Hammel's leadership as Chair.
The budget plan for DLEG, which now goes to the Senate, also invests $10 million in the Michigan Nursing Corps to help provide additional faculty to train more Michigan workers to fill the many good-paying nursing jobs available now.
This initiative provides financial assistance for nursing students who agree to stay in Michigan after they graduate and teach in Michigan nursing programs; colleges currently do not have the capacity to accept all the residents who want to enroll. The Michigan Nursing Corps also allows displaced workers with a bachelor's degree in science to obtain an accelerated one-year nursing certification.
DLEG estimates the economic return for the nurses trained as a result of the increase in faculty at more than $1,000 per $1 spent. Demand in this occupational field will continue to grow, with a shortage of 18,000 nurses expected in Michigan by 2015.
In addition, the budget plan includes $500,000 for the state's 15 Centers for Independent Living, which provide job placement and support services to people with disabilities. The centers served about 40,000 Michigan residents last year. This funding increase, the first substantial one in seven years, will help expand these highly successful job-training programs in areas that are currently unserved or underserved.
For every dollar in state funds spent on Centers for Independent Living, taxpayers save about $11 because residents become self-sufficient through employment and can live independently rather than relying on state housing or financial assistance.
Hammel worked for months with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle and his counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Mark Jansen, in a bipartisan workgroup to make these job-training programs a priority.
"Moving our Genesee workers into good-paying jobs quickly is my top priority," Hammel said. "That's something we need to accomplish by working on two fronts: attracting more top-notch employers to Michigan and training our workers so they can do the jobs available now."