Oregon Governor Announces Skills Training Initiative
"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," Gov. Kate Brown said in her 2018 State of the State address.
Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, announced Feb. 5 in her 2018 State of the State address that she is launching Future Ready Oregon, a skills and job training initiative for students and adults. As she described it, Future Ready Oregon aims to close the skills gap between the skills Oregon's workers have and the skills the state's growing businesses need.
"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."
The initiative would involve these investments in education using hands-on learning, she said:
- 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
- Expand registered apprenticeship opportunities to fields such as IT, health care, advanced wood manufacturing, and high-tech manufacturing