Greetings from the Capitol. Once again it was a busy week in Jefferson City. Students and staff from Skyline School came by for a visit. I am constantly impressed by how well students carry themselves, asked great questions and were well behaved from the schools in Southwest Missouri. I coached high school sports for almost twenty years and therefore still believe that these students will be a positive addition to our communities…if, we can just keep them here. For generations we have lost our young people because we are lacking jobs and the training for such if there are here. HB 417 to address that issue. Below are the details of that Bill.
House Approves Vital Workforce Development Bill (HB 417)
The members of the Missouri House gave strong bipartisan support to a piece of legislation designed to address the state’s current workforce shortage. By a vote of 124-29, the House approved HB 417 to help employers develop and retain skilled workers. The bill would allow the Department of Economic Development to award grants to qualifying employers for each employee or prospective employee who obtains upskill credentials. Credentials that could be eligible under the program include manufacturing technology, cybersecurity, blueprint reading, medical assistants, pharmacy technician and medical records coding.
Under the bill, the department could award up to $6 million per fiscal year for upskill training. Each employer could receive up to $2,000 for each employee who obtains upskill credentials. The bill would cap the total an employer could receive at $30,000 per fiscal year. HB 417 also ensures the funding, which is subject to appropriation, is distributed evenly among small, medium, and large employers. It would reserve one-third of the funding for small businesses with up to 50 employees and another third for medium employers with 51 to 200 employees. Any amount that is reserved and not awarded by March 1 of the fiscal year would be issued to any qualifying employer eligible for an award.
The bill’s sponsor said the provision would ensure the grants are available to Missouri’s many small businesses that can benefit greatly from it. “We want to make sure the mom and pop shops get a chance to upskill their workers just like the large corporations; to try to grow their own workers that can make their business more successful,” he said.
The bill also outlines the process by which an employer can apply for the grants with the Department of Economic Development. The applications would be evaluated on a competitive basis using criteria such as the average wage increase employees would realize with upskill credentials, the level of economic distress in the employer’s region, and the contribution made by the employer toward the cost of obtaining the upskill credentials.
