Key committee approves $750,000 request for Snohomish County Workforce Development Council

On July 26, 2006, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $750,000 she had requested for biotech job training and workforce development initiatives in Snohomish County.

"By retraining local wokers for jobs in biotech and other cutting-edge industries, we can reinforce the county's already high-skilled workforce and continue to lead the way in innovation and emerging technologies,” said Cantwell.  “This project will help bolster the local economy through the generation of more skilled workers and the creation of good local jobs.  I'll continue to fight to make sure this important funding gets signed into law.”

The funds announced by Cantwell would support a Snohomish County Workforce Development Council project to develop biotechnology jobs and to maintain a skilled workforce in Snohomish County.  Specifically, the Workforce Development Council project would provide companies with incentives to retrain local workers for positions in biotech research and manufacturing facilities, helping workers who would not otherwise have the skills needed to secure jobs in the biotech industry. 

The full Senate is expected to approve the funding in the upcoming months. Once approved, a conference committee will work out differences between House and Senate versions of the legislation that contains the funding.  The final legislation will then go to both the House and Senate for final approval.