Obama highlights education initiative in new budget plan

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday unveiled a new initiative that would provide 8 billion dollars more in job training aid. Obama announced the plan at an event at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, where he formally unveiled his overall budget plan for the 2013 fiscal year. While vowing to cut trillions of dollars over the next decade to bring the fiscal house back in order, the president stressed the need to "invest in things that help grow our economy right now, " such as infrastructure and education, two sectors that have long been the president's top priorities. The core of the new education initiative was an 8-billion- dollar Community College to Career Fund. Co-administered by the Department of Labor and the Department of Education, the fund will help forge new partnerships between community colleges and businesses to train two million workers for good-paying jobs in high-growth and high-demand industries, such as health care, transportation, and advanced manufacturing, according to the White House. There are millions of jobs open right now, at the same time there are millions of people who are unemployed, the president said, the problem is that business leaders can't always find workers with the right skills. "An economy built to last demands that we do everything we can to help students learn the skills that businesses are looking for, " he added. Under the plan, the fund will support community college-based training programs that expand targeted training that will meet the needs of employers in growth and demand sectors. It will also support programs that provide workers with the latest certified training and skills that will lead to good-paying jobs. The fund will support pay for performance strategies to provide incentives for training providers, community colleges, and local workforce organizations to ensure trainees find permanent jobs. For instance, states would be eligible for funding to support bonus programs for training programs whose graduates earn a credential and find quality jobs shortly after finishing the program. The fund will also support pathways to entrepreneurship for 5 million small business owners over three years through the nation' s workforce system and its partners.