Gov. Whitmer, Mayor Duggan And Detroit Leaders Announce Going PRO Campaign
DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Going PRO in Michigan is a new public-private partnership that is one of the nation's most ambitious statewide education and awareness campaigns to help employers across the state fill an estimated 545,000 skilled-labor jobs coming open through 2026.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and leaders in business, education and workforce development announced it Monday.
The Going PRO campaign is spearheaded by the Talent and Economic Development Department of Michigan, highlights a diverse range of high-skilled trade occupations and industries – careers Ted collectively refers to as Professional Trades. Going PRO aims to dispel the myths about Professional Trades as "dark, dirty and dangerous" and showcase numerous career options, from welders, millwrights and electrical lineworkers to medical sonographers, dental hygienists, anesthesia technologists, surgical technologists, web developers and industrial mechanics.
"If we want to make our state a home for opportunity for working people and businesses, we have to get serious about closing the skills gap," Whitmer said. "We know that the vast majority of careers in Michigan require some type of education beyond high school, but only 45% of Michiganders have this additional education. I set the state's first goal to increase the number of people with a postsecondary degree or certificate to 60% by 2030 because everyone deserves a pathway to a high-paying job, and the Going PRO campaign will help us achieve this goal."
Approximately half of Michigan's high school students, young adults and parents lack knowledge about the value and benefits that apprenticeships offer in Professional Trades, with only 13 percent of high school students considering apprenticeships a good career path option.
"Going PRO is the right step toward making sure that Detroit – the city that put the world on wheels – is a place for opportunity where working people and businesses can thrive," Duggan said. "By building a strong, skilled workforce, together we can improve the quality of life for every one of us, get people on the right track toward good-paying careers and establish Southeast Michigan communities as a great place to live, work and play."
Leaders from organized labor who attended the event also endorsed the Going PRO campaign, including SEIU Healthcare Michigan, IBEW Local 58, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights and Operating Engineers Local 324.
To learn more about Professional Trades careers, visit here.
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