LANSING Mich.
Laid-off Michigan
workers may be able to get up to two free years of community college or
technical school tuition to learn a new trade under a program rolled out
Wednesday.
The program, called No Worker Left Behind, was detailed in Traverse
City by Gov. Jennifer Granholm with the state’s
community college presidents. Granholm’s goal is to retrain and place 100,000
workers in high-demand jobs in health care, alternative fuels and other fields
within the next three years.
Granholm first talked about the project during her State of
the State address in February. The first wave of students is expected to start
classes this fall.
The Democratic governor said she is starting the program
with about $37 million in existing federal job training funds, which she can do
without the Legislature’s approval. Granholm also would like to add $40 million
to the program from the state’s general fund, which would require the
Legislature’s OK.
Republicans did not sound open to that possibility
Wednesday, saying the state doesn’t have the money for the program. Government
programs could face a $1.6 billion deficit in the fiscal year that starts in
October.
– Associated Press
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