Obama to Propose Community College Aid

By TAMAR LEWIN

President Obama on Monday will propose a $8 billion Community College to Career Fund, with the goal of training two million workers for well-paying jobs in high-demand industries, officials said.

The fund, which would need Congressional approval, would be administered jointly by the Departments of Labor and of Education. The money would be used to bolster partnerships between community colleges and businesses to train workers in areas like health care, transportation and advanced manufacturing.

In his State of the Union address, Mr. Obama called for a national commitment to help create an economy built to last by training two million workers with skills that will lead directly to a job.

Mr. Obama has for years sought to expand resources for community colleges, the main source of education and job training for most low-income Americans. In the “American Graduation Initiative” he announced in 2009, Mr. Obama proposed to bolster the work force by producing millions more community college graduates over the next decade. But instead of the $10 billion for community colleges that the administration’s original plan called for, community colleges got just $2 billion for job training.

The new fund, to be announced at an event at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, would support community college-based training programs that will expand training to meet the needs of employers in high-growth sectors; provide workers with the latest certified training and skills; and invest in registered apprenticeships and other on-the-job training opportunities.

The fund would also support paid internships for low-income community college students that will allow them to simultaneously earn credit for work-based learning and gain relevant employment experience.

Under the proposal, states would also be able to seek money to support employer efforts to improve the skills of their workforce. The fund would provide support for regional or national industry sectors to identify pressing workforce needs and develop solutions like the standardization of industry certifications, development of new training technologies and collaborations with industry employers to define and describe how skills can translate to career pathways.