A new grant program seeks to begin closing a gap between the skills employees have and the skills employers need by funding a partnership between technical colleges and businesses.

According to a statement, Gov. Scott Walker announced the creation of Wisconsin Workforce Partnership Grant Wednesday at campaign stops in La Crosse and Schofield.

“The goal is to tailor employee training to specific employers, which will help both those enrolled in technical colleges and the businesses in area communities,” Walker said in a statement. “Closing the gap between jobs and available workers needs to be a high priority, especially in the area of manufacturing, where career opportunities are growing.”

He said his office is working with the non-profit Wisconsin Covenant Foundation and the Wisconsin Technical College System to make “substantial” developments in workforce training and job placement.

The three-year-long, $4 million pilot program will provide grants to technical colleges partnering with businesses that are looking to hire workers with advanced training degrees. These degrees will help workers get the family-sustaining jobs they want, Amy Kerwin, spokesperson for Wisconsin Covenant Foundation, said.

Kerwin said the grants seek to expand degree programs either through increasing the number of students involved in programs, for example from 15 to 30, or by expanding the curriculum to better meet the need for jobs in the private sector.

She said technical colleges can apply for as many applications as any institution can, as long as each proposal has a corresponding business. She added a business could also apply for multiple grants by partnering with a Madison technical college, as well as a technical school in Milwaukee.

Morna Foy, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Technical College System, said the program is a great start, but she believes one program cannot solve the whole job skills gap employers currently face in the work market.

“We’re excited to show how we can work with business,” Foy said. “[These grants are] a pipeline, and we’re looking for interest in the programs that can be funded with these dollars.”

She said the money would go toward issues of capacity and increasing the number of people involved in technical college programs.

She said a job skills gap currently exists, since over 100,000 people are on state unemployment while open job positions in newspapers and online are increasing, and technical colleges can help employees fill that gap.

Ken Starkman, dean of the School of Applied Technology at Madison Area Technical College, said in an email to The Badger Herald that the plan will help facilitate the partnering between area manufacturers and college.

“The governor’s announcement affirms the reality that manufacturers continue to struggle to find highly skilled workers who are trained to fill jobs in advanced manufacturing,” Starkman said. “Partnerships between area manufacturers and Madison College help close that gap by providing students the knowledge and training they need to fill the skilled positions that are key to our economic recovery.”

According to the statement, up to $750,000 will be rewarded for each grant over three years. The Wisconsin Covenant Foundation will choose who will receive the award based on a number of criteria, including how many jobs and degree holders the proposal will create.