President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have decided to support initiatives that produce highly skilled workers by putting in hundreds of millions toward job training programs, CBS reported.
The announcement will be made at CCAC's West Hill Center in Oakdale, Pa., on Wednesday afternoon.
"Our West Hills site is known for its workforce development. We do some very innovative programming. We have a new initiative in mechatronic, automotive technology, a variety of trades, plumbing, electricity, and HVA," CCAC President Dr. Quintin Bullock said.
"Each of these skills allows our students to get hands-on skills, go out and do apprenticeships, internships to enhance their readiness and prepare for going into business for themselves or working in some of the newest industries across the state," he added.
"The funding will come in two parts: $500 million towards a new job training competition that pairs community colleges with businesses, and $100 million for new apprenticeship programs to train programs," CNN reported.
As part of Obama's executive actions, the two programs that the president is participating in will not require any decision from Congress.
"According to federal data, 87 percent of apprentices are employed after completing their programs and their average starting wage is more than $50,000 a year," the Kansas City Star reported.
Training providers of high-growth fields such as information technology, health care and advanced manufacturing will receive grants for setting up apprenticeships in those career fields.
In order to fight against a long-standing program of filling job vacancies which require skills possessed by few Americans, the White House said the new initiative was being started, CNN reported,
After the president announced his desire for Biden to lead an administration-wide task force to examine how Americans can better train for jobs during this year's State of the Union address, Biden has been meeting with CEO's, business executives, and visiting job training centers in New York and New Hampshire.
