Peters Addresses Flint/Genesee Job Corps Graduation

Peters Discussed Importance of Training a Skilled Workforce That Can Compete Globally

FLINT, MI – U.S. Senator Gary Peters today addressed the Flint/Genesee Job Corps Graduation, commending the graduates for reaching this important milestone and highlighting the importance of programs like Job Corps that help train and educate a strong workforce and close the skills gap in Michigan.

“With the training you’ve received here at the Flint/Genesee Job Corps program, you are equipped with the skills necessary to not only meet the challenges that lie ahead but to tackle them head on and succeed,” said Senator Peters, who is a member of the Senate Commerce, Transportation and Science and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees. “We have to make sure that Michigan can continue to be a place where everyone who works hard and plays by the rules succeeds. I’m proud to have helped pass bipartisan legislation in Congress last year that continues funding for Job Corps centers like these across the country.”

The Job Corps program provides disadvantaged youth across the country ages 16 to 24 with the skills they need to obtain jobs, enter the Armed Forces, or enroll in advanced training or higher education. The funding for Job Corps was most recently reauthorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that Senator Peters helped pass last year. Roughly 80,000 jobs are available but unfilled in Michigan because employers are struggling to find qualified workers.

The Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center provides training in areas of education and offers nine vocational skills trades including Bricklaying, Carpentry, Dental Assistant, Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Hotel and Lodging, Office Administration, Painting, Retail Sales, Security/Protective Services. The Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center offers three dorms; including child care, dining hall, recreation, and health care services to its students in preparation for stable, long-term careers. The program has three centers in Michigan, located in Flint, Grand Rapids and Detroit.

The event follows Peters’ Michigan Economic Listening Tour this week, during which he has traveled to meet with Michigan businesses, educators and workers to hear from different sectors of Michigan’s economy about how he can best represent them in Washington.

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