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The Obama Administration on Friday announced a new, $150 million grant competition for job-training partnerships that will feature employers, community colleges, unions and work force boards. The money will be aimed at "helping to prepare and place the long-term unemployed into good jobs," according to the administration. The rollout included a White House event Friday that community college leaders and students attended, including Cheryl Hyman, chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago.
The National Skills Coalition, a nonprofit group, participated in the event. The coalition said the sector partnership approach helps job seekers ensure that "every dollar spent on their education goes toward training with a job waiting on the other end." Congressional Republicans, however, criticized Obama's creation of the program through "executive fiat," and noted that more than 50 federal job training and employment programs already exist.
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