LANSING – The Michigan Strategic Fund would see a new $10 million Skilled Trades Training Program designed to help advance skilled trades such as engineering, IT or other vocational education under Governor Rick Snyder’s proposed 2013-14 fiscal year budget.

The program also would seek to help those already in the workforce, but in need of advancing their skills to keep up with their advancing-technology companies.

“What we’re intending to do, we’re planning to do a fairly aggressive pilot to see if something works,” Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Michael Finney said in a phone interview. “And if it works, we’ll be looking for a lot more support from employers than big government.”

Additionally, Snyder proposed $25 million for the state’s film incentive program, half of the $50 million appropriated for the 2012-13 current fiscal year.

In total, Snyder recommends $1 billion for fiscal year 2014 ($210.5 General Fund), representing a 1.7 percent increase (21.3 percent General Fund) from current fiscal year 2013.

Finney said although $10 million is not a lot of money to put toward such a venture, the MEDC, which receives funding from the Michigan Strategic Fund, might consider doing some kind of competition and simultaneously identify businesses or community colleges that might be interested in participating in such a program to help advance those interested in advancing their skilled trades mastery.

Though the program would not apply to those people and companies seeking to bridge the same gap between a college graduate’s degree and their company’s needs, Finney said the MEDC has “a number of other efforts underway” to address those situations.

“There’s such a huge mismatch that we just don’t have a big enough pipeline of people to meet the skills needed (in skilled trades occupations),” Finney said.

The proposal calls for a cooperative effort among that Strategic Fund, Michigan Works! Agencies, local economic developers, and community colleges and other training institutions to identify and prioritize eligible employers and participants for the Skilled Trades Program.

In total, the Fund sees about $16 million worth of increases. Finney estimated about $2 million toward arts and cultural projects and $4 million toward the state’s Pure Michigan campaign would make up the rest of that portion.

The governor’s budget also invests an additional $27.5 million General Fund to grow the state’s economy through business development and community revitalization efforts, the proposal stated, including $20 million for a new debt financing program providing “creative financing solutions to assist banks and other lenders to extend capital in underserved communities.”

The Strategic Fund also invests $16 million General Fund in the Land Bank Fast Track Authority to redevelop tax-reverted properties broken down as follows: $9.5 million for blight elimination, $4 million for “Good Neighbor” property maintenance and $2.5 million to support operations.

And as opportunities are identified, up to $2 million in Strategic Fund money would be available to support eligible Food and Agriculture Industry Growth Initiative projects, which use a competitive grant process to fund research, education, and technical assistance efforts to remove barriers identified by food processors, agri-business and those in agriculture production.

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