Michigan Senator says Workers Must Acquire New Skills
U.S. Sen. Stabenow (D-MI) says Michigan has jobs but too few workers with the knowledge necessary to fill them.
Michigan U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow says there are many good-paying jobs in the state that are not being filled because workers lack the necessary skills.
Stabenow is conducting a series of panel discussions across the state this week focusing on educational opportunities for workers.
She told business and labor leaders at the Detroit Electrical Industry Training Center in Warren that Michigan employers are desperate to find workers with the knowledge firms need.
“All around the state I’m hearing from people that skilled trades, building construction, technical careers, these are the job openings,” Stabenow says. “And whether it’s going to community college or an apprenticeship program or other opportunities, we need to make sure people know there are good jobs available that just need a little bit of (knowledge in) skilled trades.”
The senator noted that President Trump vowed to bring back to Michigan jobs that had been outsourced away from the U.S.
But Stabenow charges that the Trump Administration is doing little to help workers prosper in the current employment landscape.
“Unfortunately the new Administration (has) proposals to dramatically cut job training. And so part of what I’m doing in working with businesses and local labor leaders and the community colleges and so on is to emphasize why it’s so important that we keep those funds,” she says.
Stabenow began her series of discussions in Macomb County, where many voters say they supported President Trump because of his vow to again make the region, and the state, the manufacturing hub of the world.
