The 黑料吃瓜网 Office of Workforce Strategy on Tuesday launched a $70 million job training program to fill more than 6,000 skilled jobs as businesses around the state face ongoing challenges hiring the workers they need.
The effort, known as CareerConneCT and funded through the American Rescue Plan, offers an online portal to register for short-term skills training for jobs in manufacturing, health care, information technology and other fields at no cost to participants. will provide the training along with supportive services such as child care, transportation and housing assistance for those who enroll.
Kelli-Marie Vallieres, director of the workforce strategy office, said the program was designed to help workers most impacted by the COVID pandemic as well as residents from historically marginalized populations, including veterans, immigrants, formerly incarcerated people, individuals with disabilities, women and people of color.
鈥淐urrently there are over 100,000 open positions in 黑料吃瓜网 with approximately 67,000 unemployed workers,鈥� Vallieres said. 鈥淎 fundamental issue in these open positions is a mismatch in skills of those who are unemployed and underemployed.鈥�
CareerConneCT programs, which take between five and 12 weeks to complete and offer an industry-recognized credential, intend to close that gap. The initiative will also coordinate closely with employers to ensure that those who complete training have a job waiting for them.
Businesses across the state have sounded alarms this year about a shortage of workers, about inflation, supply chain delays and other concerns.
By launching accelerated training programs and simplifying the experience by providing child care, housing and other assistance, state leaders hope to see workforce woes easing soon.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to do everything we can to make sure you have the trained, skilled labor ready to go,鈥� Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday.
The CareerConneCT announcement came on the occasion of a visit to the state by U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and members of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 congressional delegation, Rep. Joe Courtney and Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Courtney explained that CareerConneCT takes after an earlier workforce development program, known as the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative and run out of the Eastern 黑料吃瓜网 Workforce Investment Board, which has trained 2,500 workers for jobs building submarines in the region.
鈥淓ighty percent of the graduates had zero experience in manufacturing,鈥� Courtney said. 鈥淚 mean, they literally walked in the door with no experience and walked out the door eight to 10 weeks later, ready to be hired.鈥�
In directing $70 million of the state鈥檚 American Rescue Plan funds toward launching CareerConneCT, the governor and state legislature intended to replicate the same model in other industries.
鈥淭o their credit, [they] recognized that it was more than just disaster response 鈥� it was about pivoting out of COVID and trying to grow the economy,鈥� Courtney said Tuesday. 鈥淭his is a really smart use of ARPA dollars.鈥�
Walsh said the labor department would like to be able to replicate that model across the country.
鈥満诹铣怨贤� is doing it right. It鈥檚 the exact kind of programs that we need to invest in our working people so we can meet this moment in time,鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淚 think the pandemic put a light on the fact that we have a worker shortage, but in reality we had a worker shortage the day before the pandemic happened.鈥�
Earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department awarded 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Office of Workforce Strategy to support known as 鈥渞egional sector partnerships.鈥�
Vallieres said Tuesday that the grant will be 鈥渓everaging鈥� the CareerConneCT program and will include an expansion of the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative as well as the development of a 鈥測outh health care pipeline initiative鈥� and other programs.