Governor Proposes Workforce Development Plan

The Lamont administration is proposing legislation codifying the new Office of Workforce Strategy within the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Led by former manufacturing executive Kelli Vallieres, who has been the executive director since July, the office will work in collaboration with state agencies including the Department of Labor to coordinate short-term training through the CareerConnectCT program.  

CareerConnectCT, as the new flagship program, will focus on creating and scaling high-quality, short term training programs geared towards in-demand sectors including manufacturing, clean energy, bioscience, cybersecurity, and allied health professions.  

OWS recently concluded a series of job training programs funded through the federal CARES Act, training about 850 individuals across in-demand industries. 

That training was completed in four months, with a 97% completion rate. 

Tailored Programs

CBIA strongly supports the administration’s efforts to tailor workforce development programs towards these high in-demand industries and creating new and affordable pathways for Connecticut’s workforce to skill-up and retrain.

According to the Governor’s Workforce Council’s 2020 strategic plan, job demand exceeds 3,000 positions in manufacturing, 7,000 in healthcare, 5,000 in life sciences, and 6,000 in information technology and business services.     

This is the first proposal announced by the administration this year and will be included as part of the governor’s package of proposals that will be submitted to the General Assembly in February.  

In addition to the proposal, Lamont announced Connecticut received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will be used to help build career pathways in the information technology and advanced manufacturing sectors.

The focus of the grant is to provide entry level and incumbent worker training to more than 2,000 residents.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Ashley Zane (860.244.1169) | @AshleyZane9