President Obama will spell out a plan at Northern Virginia Community College on Monday called the "Community College to Career Fund," according to the Associated Press. The program, which Obama will need $8 billion to create from Congress, will focus on training 2 million workers in high-growth industries. The program would seek to train workers within areas such as health care, transportation and advanced manufacturing.
A key component of the community college program would encourage "pay for performance," meaning that there would be financial incentives to ensure that trainees find permanent jobs. It would also promote training of entrepreneurs, provide grants for state and local government to recruit companies, and support paid internships for low-income community college students.
"These investments will give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers where people learn crucial skills that local businesses are looking for right now, ensuring that employers have the skilled workforce they need and workers are gaining industry-recognized credentials to build strong careers," the White House said in a statement.
In his State of the Union address last month, Obama said that he wanted businesses and communities to commit to training 2 million Americans, hopefully helping them land jobs at the end of the training.
The president will also be releasing his budget today; it is expected to include new taxes for the wealthy and increased spending on the nation's infrastructure. With unemployment numbers decreasing, the president may actually have a shot at pushing this program through Congress.
Read more at the Associated Press.
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