“In a global economy, workers need skills on the cutting edge,” Boyd said. “If they don’t have the training, we want to provide them with the training they need.”

In order to qualify for the program, an applicant must be at least 18 years old, unemployed, have a household income of less than $40,000 per year and have graduated from high school more than two years ago.

The program does not apply to those who are already full-time college students, Boyd said, and will only be in effect for three years.

While the training emphasized by the program would vary from region to region within the state, Boyd said the focus would be in the emerging job markets of Michigan’s economy, such as health care, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and renewable energy.

Beyond creating job growth, the program needs to fill the positions that are already in Michigan, said Keith Cooley, director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

“Despite the news you hear about layoffs in manufacturing and auto facilities, there is a shortage of workers,” Cooley said. “These days, though, a post-secondary education is a necessity – not only to attract new industry but just as critical to staff existing positions.”

Training Michigan’s workforce cannot be the only focus of a program like this if it is going to succeed, said Bryan Ritchie, international relations professor and expert on Michigan’s economic future.

“There’s no question that education and technical training is a huge first step, but you could educate these people and have them leave,” he said.

Encouraging entrepreneurial growth also is a vital step, Ritchie said.

“We need to be focused on that, rather than business attraction,” he said.

Promoting that growth, Boyd said, is something NWLB is prepared to handle.

“Workers who have received buyout packages … we might be able to help those workers start their own businesses,” Boyd said. “This will be a very employer-driven program.”

Although the program has been launched, it is not yet fully funded.

NWLB is being funding through redirecting $37 million of federal funds allotted to the state for job training, supporting programs such as the Michigan Opportunity Partnership, which helps employers to fill vacant positions, Cooley said.

In order to function properly, the program needs $77 million in funding, but with budget negotiations ongoing in the Capitol, that could prove difficult, Cooley said.

“(NWLB) takes these funds and puts them into an accelerated program to train workers,” he said. “There’s supposed to be another $40 million from the General Fund, but the concern is it won’t make the cut.”

While he said he supports the idea behind the program, Assistant Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Bellaire, said the state cannot take the extra strain.

“The challenge I see is that at most, we are redirecting $40 million in federal dollars to fund this program, and the governor is looking for an additional $40 million out of the General Fund that will not support it,” he said.