S-3976.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6616

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Senators Bauer, Prentice, B. Sheldon and Rasmussen; by request of Lieutenant Governor

Read first time 01/20/2000.  Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

Increasing technical training at state educational institutions.

    AN ACT Relating to increasing technical training at state educational institutions; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that the demand for skilled workers with postsecondary vocational-technical certificates or degrees exceeds the state's supply from community and technical colleges, private career schools, and apprenticeships by a ratio of two to one.  The legislature further finds that costs incurred by community and technical colleges in offering programs to meet this demand are higher than the costs for basic skills and academic classes.  The legislature further finds that a lack of timely labor market information impedes the ability of educational institutions to be responsive to shifting training needs, thus decreasing the availability of skilled workers and reducing the productivity and competitiveness of Washington businesses.  The legislature intends to increase the capacity of the state's community and technical colleges to develop timely labor market information and provide an increased number of postsecondary vocational-technical certificates or degrees in high-demand fields.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  The state board for community and technical colleges shall conduct regular, systematic analyses of projected training needs of the largest industrial sectors within the state as well as the industrial sectors within the state that have the highest annual rate of increase in employment.  The board shall make this information available to all community and technical colleges and private career schools in the state as well as to the supervisor of the state apprenticeship council.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  The state board for community and technical colleges shall provide grants to community and technical colleges that make use of the information provided them under section 2 of this act  and offer new or expanded training programs to meet newly identified training needs.  The grants shall be used exclusively to pay for the costs of vocational-technical training equipment, supplies, and instructors.

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