Dive Brief:
- President Barack Obama's TechHire initiative, announced Monday, will bring community colleges and universities together with local governments to provide adults with job-training skills in IT fields, EdSurge reports.
- According to the White House, 21 communities across the country have committed to the initiative, along with 300 employer partners willing to offer tech training and expand access to these important jobs.
- The Department of Labor will offer $100 million in competitive grants for innovative approaches to job training and placement for low-skilled Americans, including those with disabilities, limited English skills, or minimal education.
Dive Insight:
The White House’s announcement includes the latest in a line of job training efforts that ask community colleges and universities to become partners in making the residents in their communities more marketable to employers. The initial 21 communities that have signed onto the initiative will be able to share innovations and benefit from each other’s work, which Obama hopes will entice other communities to join. The goal of the initiative is to offer quick, meaningful training for job-seekers. New connections between higher education institutions and their local employers will be a foundation of the program. Colleges and universities should further explore potential benefits for their traditional student bodies as those partnerships strengthen.