SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown opened the 35-day legislative session Monday with a speech laying out her plan to improve technical education and training programs so more Oregonians can land jobs in growth industries such as bioscience and health care.
Much of the plan centers on a $300 million proposal she said she will bring to the Legislature in 2019 if she is re-elected.
The governor noted that businesses currently tap out-of-state candidates to fill one out of every four job openings in Oregon’s technology industry and one out of every five jobs in advanced manufacturing.
“Oregon’s rising economic tide should be lifting all boats,” Brown said. “Yet many hardworking families are still under water.”
In her speech, Brown did not cite a wealth of accomplishments in the past year.
Instead, she centered her agenda, “Future Ready Oregon,” on a plan to boost spending on hands-on career and technical education in the next state budget. Her ability to achieve that depends on lawmakers’ willingness to go along next session, not to mention the state’s cash flow in a year when governments expect to get hit with a painful increase in public pension costs.
The governor started her speech by recounting the important role of education in her family’s financial stability. “Future Ready Oregon starts with my grandmother’s mantra: education, education, education,” Brown said. Read the rest of the story at the OregonLive.