This week, a business coalition formed by AT&T and the Henry Ford Community College announced the creation of the Michigan Alliance for High-Tech Skills Training, an industry-led job retraining program that will be available to displaced workers and interested students in Michigan this year.

Henry Ford Community College will design a curriculum to develop core competencies and skills to retain workers for 21st century jobs.

“This program recognizes and will tap into the tremendous potential of the human capital we have in Michigan,” said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. “This initiative will provide our workers the opportunity to learn the skills they will need to help grow the 21st century economy right here at home.”

The Michigan Alliance for High-Tech Skills Training Program supports efforts by the governor and other Michigan leaders, as well as the Obama Administration, to engage businesses in the education and retraining of displaced workers.

“As President Obama recognized when he announced the American Graduation Initiative right here in Michigan, our nation’s community colleges will continue to play an even greater role in expanding economic opportunities to all individuals,” said Dr. Gail Mee, Henry Ford Community College president. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue helping those here in Michigan who have been hit hardest by the struggling economy.”

I personally believe that evolving technologies require that leading edge businesses train and educate their employees to remain in lockstep with the industry. Education and retraining are the keys to assisting people in rejoining the workforce. The curriculum being offered by Henry Ford, developed together with this coalition, will provide displaced workers with new high-tech skills that can be applied across many industries.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about job creation