Governor Doyle holds town hall meetings at technical colleges

 

Governor Doyle continued his tradition of town hall meetings at two technical colleges, Madison Area and Chippewa Valley.  The governor conversed with his audiences on the future of the Wisconsin economy and the invaluable role the technical colleges play in its growth.

 

The Governor talked about how we can enhance our economy by taking “One Step Up,” a practice proven successful in Ireland .  It urges each citizen to never settle on his or her current education level and to strive for better opportunities through continued education.

 

"If you’re already an advanced PhD researcher, go a step further. If you’re at a minimum wage job, take a step up. If you’re in the middle someplace, take the step up. It really is in our technical colleges that we’re focused on having our economy take a step up.”

 

Doyle used students’ stories of personal setbacks to illustrate the technical colleges’ power in enabling students to take this “step up,” regardless of their individual history.

 

“No matter what their difficulties may have been…this is the one door that everybody in this state can walk through. And when they walk through that door and if they’re ready to work hard and they’re ready to take advantage of the great teaching and other activities that go on here, they can get ahead.”

 

Doyle also spoke on his desire to expand on the success of Youth Apprenticeship programs and WTCS Workforce Advancement Training Grants by increasing the funding from $2 million to $10 million. This funding will benefit 36,000 workers and over 300 businesses. Doyle feels the investment in private business and technical college partnerships will benefit the economy in the long run.

 

“The states that are able to say to employers that we have a fast, flexible and effective way of getting people trained for the specific jobs that you need, are going to be the states that are the winners.”

 

The Governor also spoke on his commitment to the Wisconsin Covenant, meeting increasing demands for healthcare workers, modernizing the agricultural sector, ensuring quality child care, and reducing the prison population.   

 

For a video of the complete meeting at MATC Madison, please visit:  Gov. Doyle at MATC