March 16, 2006, Introduced by Senators JACOBS, SCOTT, CHERRY, SWITALSKI, THOMAS, PRUSI, CLARK-COLEMAN, BRATER, SCHAUER, EMERSON, OLSHOVE, BARCIA, CLARKE and LELAND and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
A bill to promote economic growth and increased employment
opportunity by creating cooperative partnerships encompassing
public and private sector entities; to develop and implement a
program for targeted job training and worker placement; and to
prescribe powers and duties of certain state departments.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Michigan opportunity partnership act".
Sec. 3. As used in this act:
(a) "Department" means the department of labor and economic
growth.
(b) "Program" means the Michigan opportunity partnership
program created in section 5.
Sec. 5. The Michigan opportunity partnership program is
created within the department. The department shall administer the
program with the objective of creating and implementing cooperative
solutions to address critical labor shortages in high demand areas,
such as health care and skilled trades, and providing employment
opportunities for workers in this state.
Sec. 7. The department shall create regional skills alliances
joining businesses, labor groups, community colleges, workforce
development agencies, and others. The regional alliances shall
share ideas, information, and resources to do the following:
(a) Gather information concerning positions for which
employers are seeking skilled employees.
(b) Cooperate with educational institutions to design training
programs to meet identified needs.
(c) Implement compressed, 6- to 9-month training programs for
skills and positions for which employers have identified a high
demand.
(d) Link workers to the training programs for high demand
positions.
(e) Match trained workers with emerging job opportunities.
Sec. 9. The department shall disseminate information
concerning the program to employers and employees in the state.
Sec. 11. The department shall utilize federal funds to the
extent possible to implement the program.
Sec. 13. The department shall file a report with the
legislature not later than 1 year after the effective date of this
act and every year thereafter. The report shall include all of the
following information concerning the program during the reporting
period:
(a) The total number of individuals who received training.
(b) The total number of workers placed in employment.
(c) The number of employers for which workers have been
trained or placed.
(d) The names of the employers for which workers have been
trained or placed.
(e) The number of workers trained and placed for each
employer.
(f) The types of work for which workers have been trained.
(g) A description of the training programs developed and the
providers of those programs.
(h) An assessment of the overall effectiveness of this act in
contributing to employment and business opportunity within this
state.