Illinois House Approves Workforce Training Program

March 9, 2006

Springfield.….Continuing with his commitment to improve the job creation climate in Illinois and bring more jobs to Southern Illinois, State Rep. David Reis (R - Ste. Marie) has introduced and moved legislation through the Illinois House of Representatives that will help establish a mobile response work force training program for companies that are looking to expand or locate in Illinois.

"It is becoming more and more clear that just offering grants to help offset training costs to assist companies with their training needs is no longer a competitive incentive to attract interest in locating new businesses in our state," said Reis. "New businesses are constantly looking to lower the amount of time it takes for a return on their investment and other states have found it necessary to provide state funded on-site customized work force training to their constituencies."

The new pilot program will be modeled after the very successful Alabama Industrial Development Training program and will be administered in conjunction with DCEO and the Illinois Community College Board.

"The overall goal of this legislation is to attract more companies to Illinois and create more jobs. The only way to revive our economy is to attract new businesses to our state that bring good paying jobs with them. Having a customized work force that is trained on site will definitely help us in our efforts," Reis said.

Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, and the neighboring state of Indiana are all ranked in the top five work force training programs in the country. As yet, Illinois is not even in the top 10 in this category. "Illinois simply must become more competitive when it comes to drawing in new business. One of the best features of this program is that it is provided at no cost to employers" said Reis.

As other states in the nation have partnered with new and expanding businesses, they have seen increasingly positive results, something Reis believes can and will happen in Illinois if legislature approves and the Governor signs the legislation. "The people of this state deserve the opportunity to prove how valuable and hard working they really are. Once word begins to spread in the business community that Illinois is 'the place to be' for new and expanding companies, the socio-economic benefits of these workforce training efforts will begin to bear fruit" Reis said.

Having passed the House, HB 5429 now awaits approval by the Illinois Senate where Senator John O. Jones will be the lead sponsor.