Gov. Kate Brown has praised legislative approval of her $200 million job training plan known as Future Ready Oregon.

The plan in Senate Bill 1545 focuses on future jobs in health care, construction and manufacturing, and training for people who often have been left behind in past economic recoveries.

It was developed by the Governor’s Racial Justice Council — which Brown formed in the aftermath of the 2020 national protests following the murder of George Floyd by a now-former Minneapolis police officer — plus business interests, regional workforce development panels and others.

“Now, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work to build a skilled and diverse workforce,” Brown said in a statement after the House passed it on a 48-10 vote Thursday.

The Senate passed it 23-3 on March 1.

Brown’s office released statements from others involved in shaping the legislation.

Although Oregon’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in more unfilled jobs than there are available workers, the plan will focus on training efforts in three sectors that will generate more jobs in the next decade. They are health care — which has been chronically short of workers for almost a decade, and also suffering losses in the aftermath of the two-year pandemic — plus construction and manufacturing. Skilled workers in those fields are retiring faster than younger workers can replace them.

According to a fourth-quarter report by the Oregon Employment Department, construction and manufacturing each had at least 10,000 vacancies — and health care more than 25,000 jobs — of more than 100,000 vacancies statewide at the end of 2021.

“With the COVID crisis easing, Oregonians are looking for new job opportunities that require new skills,” said Duncan Wyse, president of the Oregon Business Council, a sponsor of the Oregon Business Plan conference where the plan was previewed on Dec. 6. “This opens a pathway to more rewarding, better-paid jobs, and it makes Oregon more competitive in the bargain.”

Where the money goes

The plan combines $76 million from the tax-supported general fund with $123 million in federal funds from Oregon’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act, the $2 trillion pandemic recovery plan that President Joe Biden signed last year.

Much of the money will boost spending in existing programs with proven track records. Some will go toward new competitive grants for innovative education and training opportunities. Some money will go toward direct benefits to individuals to remove barriers — such as housing, child care and transportation — while they are undergoing training.

“This initiative provides the road map for Oregonians … to get access to family-wage careers in health care and beyond,” said Patsy Richards, who co-led the council task force that helped draft the plan.

Richards, who is Black, is the director of Long-Term Care Works for the RISE Partnership in Portland. “This historical bill will change our workforce system for the better and create an equitable economy that works for everyone!” said Marin Areolla III, president of Advanced Economic Solutions in Salem and the other co-chair of the task force.

Rep. Paul Holvey of Eugene, a retired carpenters union representative, was the only Democrat to vote against the bill in the House. He expressed concern that apprenticeships created by the plan will fall under the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, rather than the Bureau of Labor and Industries, which oversees apprenticeships. He also said that apprentices require on-the-job training, not just pre-employment education.

Kelly Kupcak, executive director of Oregon Tradeswomen, said it was a start.

“Together, we now have an opportunity to collectively build an inclusive, just economy in Oregon that works for everyone — so that all workers can support themselves and their families,” said Kupcak, who also sat on the task force.