U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited Milwaukee Thursday. While here, he announced that the government plans to make $7 million in competitive federal grants available to help retrain displaced auto workers. WUWM’s LaToya Dennis has more.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the federal government will let states compete for worker retraining grants totaling $7 million. The winning states could receive up to three quarters of a million dollars. Duncan says this is about giving people who’ve lost their jobs hope for the future.
“There’s tough times around the country generally, but there are a lot of folks in this state and in other states that have done the right thing, worked hard, gotten up every morning, and through no fault of their own don’t have a job today. And so that’s an area where the president and I are particularly sensitive and aware of the challenges,” Duncan says.
Duncan says $7 million may not sound like a lot when considering the number of people who have and will lose their jobs, but he says this is part of a much larger effort to educate people and get them to work. The money could be used in a number of ways.
“We are suggesting the support for adult students could include tutoring, academic and career counseling and help with the registration process. Programs could also remove financial constraints related to child care, transportation and textbooks,” Duncan says.
Milwaukee Area Technical College in downtown Milwaukee served as the backdrop for Thursday’s announcement. Duncan says community colleges here, and across the country, will be where thousands of people turn for a new lease on the future.
“Higher education is the answer that is readily available. Community colleges like this one could help experienced professionals learn new skills to work in emerging industries like renewable energy or retrain to fill critical shortages in engineering, nursing and other fields,” Duncan says.
One woman who attended the press conference was Dorothy Bringe. She recently finished a yearlong dental technician program at MATC. She started here after her husband, who worked at the now defunct General Motors plant in Janesville died, and she lost her job at Delphi in Oak Creek.
“I guess I was in a quandary, you know, where do I go from here,” Bringe says.
Bringe says she was able to go to school with money the federal government made available. She says learning a trade has made all the difference in her life.
“I guess it’s exactly like the saying, God closes a door and opens a window and that’s exactly what happened,” Bringe says.
Bringe says she plans to continue with school in the fall to become a dental assistant. Governor Doyle says the $7 million in grants the federal government is making available will give more people like Bringe, opportunities they otherwise would not have. He says help at the federal level is absolutely necessary.
"We cannot say to somebody who because of this economic crisis in this country who find themselves out of work or underemployed, we can’t say to them, I’m sorry, our technical colleges just don’t have a place for you. Come back in a few years and we’ll see what we can do,” Doyle says.
Doyle says people are in dire need and the government is stepping up. Wisconsin will find out in mid September if it will receive grant money.
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