RELEASE: Rep. Haley’s Statement on Youth Skills Training Grant
ST. PAUL, MN – On Friday, June 8, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) announced that a collaborative from Goodhue County, consisting of area school districts, Minnesota State College Southeast and non-profit Red Wing Ignite, has been awarded a $95,000 Youth Skills Training grant.
The grant is a part of the Department’s new Youth Skills Training program (YST@DLI), and is designed to help develop and implement paid-learning opportunities in high-demand fields for high school and college students. The program aims to create and provide employment training for students by enabling partnerships between school districts and private industry in skilled trade sectors such as manufacturing, information technology, and healthcare.
The YST@DLI grant program was created by bipartisan legislation co-authored by Rep. Barb Haley (R-Red Wing) that was enacted during the 2017 legislative session. Rep. Haley played a key role in the legislation’s passage and was a strong and effective advocate for the Goodhue County group, working extensively with local stakeholders as they developed and submitted an application for the grant.
Following the announcement, Rep. Haley released the following statement:
“I am thrilled to see the Goodhue County Collaborative receive this important grant. I’d like to thank and congratulate the Superintendents and school leaders, along with Minnesota State Southeast and Red Wing Ignite, for taking the initiative to partner on this important opportunity for our schools and students. These dollars will have a tremendously positive impact on technical skills education and manufacturing in our area, and are a vital step in our efforts to close our workforce gap. Workforce development remains a top priority for me in the legislature, and I am proud to have co-authored legislation that made this possible. I look forward to continuing to help provide more job opportunities in high-demand fields for young people in our communities and across the state.”
###