Gov. Brown announces skill training initiative
In her 2018 State of the State address, Governor Kate Brown announced Monday the launch of Future Ready Oregon, a skill and job training initiative for students and adults.
Future Ready Oregon is designed to close the skills gap between the skills Oregon’s workers have and the skills that the state’s growing businesses need, according to the announcement, the rest of which follows below:
“Giving our students hands-on learning opportunities, and once they graduate, supporting them as lifelong learners is the beginning of Future Ready Oregon. It is a new way of thinking about our economy,” Brown said. “By working together, we can ensure that economic prosperity reaches every Oregonian across the entire state, and do it in a way that ensures prosperity is inclusive.”
Future Ready Oregon prepares our future workforce by making investments in education using hands-on learning:
Dedicate $300 million to Career Technical Education classes in the 2019-2021 state budget Make hands-on learning programs available in every school district in Oregon Ensure every student in Oregon has the opportunity to participate in hands-on learning programs
Future Ready Oregon prepares our current workforce by arming them with the skills they need to help Oregon’s economy grow.
Next-Gen Apprenticeships Expand registered apprenticeship opportunities to fields like IT, healthcare, advanced wood manufacturing, and high-tech manufacturing. Turn wage earners into job creators (House Bill 4144) Helps mid-career construction professionals start their own business, and provides incentive to attract and retain new, young talent into the workforce. For four types of construction licenses, directs the Construction Contractors Board and the Building Codes Division to waive all state fees and formal education requirements for aspiring entrepreneurs who have worked in the construction industry for more than eight years. Opens up an existing fund at Business Oregon to these new small businesses, to help with up-front costs like insurance, bonding, and equipment. These funds will only be available for businesses in rural Oregon who work on affordable, low, and moderate income housing. Directs the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to give grant funding to to recruit, hire, and retain Oregonians new to the construction workforce. Increase affordable housing supply in rural Oregon Regional Solutions to work with state agencies and partner with local communities, the business sector, and private developers to address the housing shortage for working families in Oregon. Ensure investments by the state are felt equitably across Oregon Business Oregon to focus on rural areas, communities of color, and Oregon’s nine tribes. Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Business Oregon to increase collaboration to match high-growth industries with job training programs. Ease entry to high growth industries State agencies to align qualifications for entry-level healthcare, homecare, and community health jobs. Workers will be able to train for several sectors of the industry at once.
