Budget Includes $24 Million for New 'Critical Job Training Grants' To Retrain Displaced Workers for High-Demand Jobs Adds $5 Million for New 'Workforce Leadership Grants' To Enhance Regional Workforce-Development Initiatives
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Gov. Mark Schweiker's 2002-03 proposed budget outlines an extensive workforce-development investment -- including $24 million for new "Critical Job Training Grants" and $5 million for new "Workforce Leadership Grants" -- to ensure that Pennsylvania workers have the job skills to meet employers' needs.
"Pennsylvanians must not only be safe from the fear of terrorism -- they must be safe from the fear of losing their paychecks," Gov. Schweiker said. "So let's protect those paychecks by strengthening the training programs that prepare workers for the jobs of the future.
"You've already helped us guarantee a rapid response to displaced workers through critical job training grants," Gov. Schweiker told the General Assembly. "But it's time to do more. I invite you to put a bill on my desk by July 1 that fundamentally reforms our workforce-development system once and for all. It will sharpen our focus on helping displaced workers meet the challenge of retraining for new careers."
The Governor's budget proposes $24 million for new Critical Job Training Grants to give displaced Pennsylvania workers quick access to training, retraining and education for high-demand jobs and occupations with immediate skill needs.
The Governor's rapid-response team -- made up of the five state agencies involved in workforce development -- will support the Critical Job Training Grants program to make sure state funds are available for training and retraining programs within days of identifying the need. The five agencies are the departments of Labor and Industry, Community and Economic Development, Aging, Education, and Public Welfare.
Eligible applicants for training grants include school districts, intermediate units, vocational-technical schools, post-secondary institutions, local workforce-investment boards, businesses and public agencies that provide workforce services and activities.
Gov. Schweiker's budget also proposes $5 million for new Workforce Leadership Grants to provide funding to flexible and responsive programs that meet the workforce needs of businesses, local workforce-investment boards, regions and the Commonwealth.
"Sept. 11 challenged everyone," Gov. Schweiker said. "Some lost loved ones. Kelly Gurney lost her job. She worked for US Airways in Pittsburgh. Fifteen days after the attacks, Kelly was out of work. Her comeback is a lesson for all of us."
Gurney of Sheridan, Allegheny County, is using Pennsylvania's workforce-development system to prepare for a new career in web design and security through the "E-Commerce" diploma program at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Pittsburgh. She joined Gov. Schweiker during his budget address live via satellite from the state's Rapid Response Center at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union Hall in Moon Township, Allegheny County.
"Staff at the Rapid Response Center were truly concerned and genuinely empathetic to my situation," Gurney said. "I walked in feeling low and down. But I left feeling that I could stand tall and that things would be all right.
"The service was outstanding. They put me in touch with the local CareerLink office, where I learned about retraining and educational opportunities. Now I am focused on preparing for a new career.
"Just last week I started 'E-Commerce' classes at the International Academy of Design and Technology," Gurney said. "Thanks to Pennsylvania's workforce-development programs, I will be equipped with the tools, knowledge and skills to tackle the job market. I am confident that I will be back on a payroll soon."
Gov. Schweiker's budget also proposes $37.5 million for his Customized Job Training program -- making it one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation. Of that, $21.5 million is earmarked for the Guaranteed Free Training Program operated by WEDnetPA (Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania), which responds within days to the basic-skills and advanced-technology needs of businesses.
Nearly two years ago, the Guaranteed Free Training Program made Pennsylvania the first state to offer Internet-based training to its businesses through a Customized Job Training program -- earning a Civic 50 award as one of the leading uses of information technology by state and local government.
The training has an up-front warranty for employers. More than $51 million has been allocated for this program over the last four budgets. By the end of this fiscal year, the program will have helped train nearly 120,000 Pennsylvania workers, including 24,000 with advanced technology skills.
"Leadership and partnership are the keys to taking Pennsylvania's workforce-development initiatives to the next level," Gov. Schweiker said. "We must have the right tools and be ready to respond when workforce-development opportunities arise. With the Guaranteed Free Training Program, we are ready."
Several months ago, Logistic Control LLC approached the Governor's Action Team -- economic-development specialists who report directly to the Governor -- about providing basic-skills training for 250 new employees in the Lehigh-Carbon area.
"Within three days of that contact, we were able to provide $112,000 in Guaranteed Free Training Program funding," Gov. Schweiker said. "We were able to respond quickly with the right tools, for a company that bought the Stroh's brewery in the Lehigh Valley and will provide 250 Pennsylvanians with jobs brewing Guinness Beer products."
The Governor's budget also proposes $2.5 million for the Self Employment Assistance (SEA) program to help individuals become entrepreneurs. In the past two years, people in 28 counties who completed the SEA program started more than 575 businesses employing more than 370 Pennsylvanians. In 2000 alone, those businesses reported a combined net income of $11 million.
Each year, Pennsylvania invests more than $1 billion in state and federal funds for workforce development including:
* More than $660 million for employment assistance and job training for adults; * $133 million for occupational training and degree programs in secondary and post-secondary educational programs; and * Nearly $524 million in supportive and related services (i.e. child care, family literacy) for people who are seeking employment or are already in the workforce.
Since 1995, Pennsylvania families and employers have saved $19 billion through tax cuts, workers' compensation reform, reduced red tape and electric deregulation. These savings have helped to create nearly 500,000 new jobs.
CONTACT: Jason Kirsch Deputy Press Secretary (717) 783-1116 Erica Wright, DCED (717) 783-1132 Barry Ciccocioppo, L&I (717) 787-7530 MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X74663385
Contact: Jason Kirsch, Deputy Press Secretary, +1-717-783-1116, Erica Wright, DCED, +1-717-783-1132, or Barry Ciccocioppo, L&I, +1-717-787-7530
Website: http://www.state.pa.us/
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