Skilled workers are in ever-greater demand in Connecticut, and Governor Malloy today said he will introduce legislation this year to make sure the state's technical high schools can meet that demand. 

Under the governor's proposals, improved tech schools’ programming will be “tailor[ed]to the needs of employers, so that students are better prepared for real-world employment when they graduate,” he said.

Gov. Malloy’s initiative will promote the recommendations of the Connecticut Technical High School System Task Force.  In January, the task force issued a report as a roadmap for turning around one of the state’s most underutilized educational resources.   

Among those ideas was to create a separate board to oversee the system, and the governor's proposals will include a new, independent board that includes four business leaders along with state education and economic development officials.

 “We have to create the skilled labor that Connecticut companies need to compete globally,” said Governor Malloy.“When these reforms are in place, we will position our technical high school system to offer programs that are relevant for the high-tech jobs of today and tomorrow.”   

The governor is also allocating $500,000 in additional funding to increase the training resources and supplies for students.

The technical high school reforms are part of Gov. Malloy’s commitment to making 2012 “The year of education reform.” Also this week, the governor proposed investing $12 million to improve the quality of and expand access to early childhood education and care across the state. He also announced a plan to cut red tape and state mandates faced by school districts across the state.   

As the 2012 legislative session approaches, be sure to contact your legislators and urge them to support the governor’s proposals.