A bill signed by Governor Walker Wednesday could help fill the state’s skills gap for manufacturing workers. It provides $15 million in grant money for technical colleges and universities that focus on training students in high-demand fields. The governor says it’s the first step in a plan that he hopes will lead to more job creation.
“We’re going to do as much as we possibly can to make sure that we’ve got people with the skills needed to not just fill jobs today but more importantly the jobs of tomorrow,” he said.
Walker signed the bill at Jay Manufacturing in Oshkosh. Matt Jameson, the company president, says the current skills gap is relatively small but it could get much worse if the state doesn’t put a bigger emphasis on the skilled trades.
Jameson says a lot of baby-boomers are reaching retirement age and someone needs to fill their positions.
WHBY
