Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said workforce development will be a top priority for his administration this year.
He told members of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association that his goal is to help provide businesses the workforce needed for them to recover from the pandemic.
“We've got a high unemployment rate. We've got a lot of people changing what they do over the next six months. And we are going to put resources behind and energy behind that to make sure that you’ve got the people you need,” Lamont said.
Lamont said his plan is to use federal coronavirus relief money to fund certification programs that would train workers for the jobs that are available.
“One of the things that we are allowed to do is to train people for the next group of jobs that are out there right now. And there we are going to be aggressive in starting up pilot programs, starting up certificate programs,” Lamont said.
Lamont said about 300 former hospitality and other customer care workers have already been trained and certified for jobs in the healthcare sector. The state Department of Labor said the state’s unemployment level is 8.2%.
