CT advocates call for training investments.

Campaign for a Working Connecticut Advocates for Training and Education in Special Session

On October 25, the Connecticut state legislature passed a $626 million bipartisan jobs bill, funded through a bonding proposal. Though the bill focuses primarily on job creation, it provides investments in equipment and infrastructure critical to expanding the state’s capacity to offer training and employment, particularly in manufacturing and construction. 

Campaign for a Working Connecticut (CWCT) used the debate around the jobs bill to advocate for additional investments in training and education as a much-needed complement to this large-scale job creation effort. Though the current bill includes $10 million in training for small businesses in manufacturing and other key industries, it isn’t nearly the scope, scale or reliable funding needed to fill the middle-skill gap currently being experienced by many industries throughout the state. With over 35 co-signers, including numerous Chambers of Commerce and other diverse allies, on their 2012 legislative agenda—which calls for new investments in Connecticut’s workforce—CWCT is gearing up to build on this growing acknowledgment by Connecticut policymakers that proactive workforce development policies must be enacted if the state is going to get its economy back on track.

The Campaign for a Working Connecticut is a coalition that promotes the state's economic competitiveness through the development of sustainable, effective workforce solutions to increase workers' skills and advance families to self-sufficiency.