Utah among states to get funds for job training programs

SALT LAKE CITY — Displaced Utah workers may be getting some help in receiving training to change careers.

This week, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Martha Kanter, undersecretary of education, announced nearly $500 million will be given to community colleges across the nation in order to better provide training and workforce development. This is expected to be the first installment in a $2 billion, four-year federal investment in increasing opportunities for unemployed workers.

Among those recipients, Utah will receive $2.7 million over the next three years. The funds will be distributed among Salt Lake Community College, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University, Weber State University and the Utah College of Applied Technology.

"This consortium will lay a solid foundation for offering new, innovative training programs that lead to employment in high-wage, high-skills fields and meet the educational needs of Utah's workforce," SLCC spokesman Joy Tlou said. SLCC has been chosen as the organizer of the federal grant.

Tlou said the Utah institutions will have 60 days to provide a plan to the federal government on what programs will be funded. Most funds will go toward developing two-year work training programs designed to get workers into high-skill, high-wage jobs.

"This initiative is about providing access to training that leads to real jobs," Solis said in a statement.

The initiative is part of President Barack Obama's broader goal for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com