Governor Snyder on the Talent Quest

Connecting jobs, workers

Snyder’s state speech to address ‘talent initiative’

By Paul Egan Free Press Lansing Bureau

   LANSING — Matching job vacancies in Michigan with people who possess the necessary skills to fill those jobs will be one of the themes of the State of the State address Wednesday and a priority this year, Gov. Rick Snyder said Monday.

   Snyder told members of the Michigan Agri-Business Association that he is planning an economic development summit in March to address the demand side of the jobs equation, followed by an education summit in April to address the supply side. Nowhere in the country have the two been effectively linked, Snyder said.

   Snyder has talked frequently about the issue in the past, noting that the state has thousands of vacant jobs, but a high unemployment level.

   Speaking at the Lansing Center on Monday, he tied the importance of the issue to the likelihood that he would seek a second term in 2014.

   “I haven’t formally announced anything, but there’s a lot more I want to do,” he said before talking about the jobs-skills link he refers to as his “talent initiative.”

   Snyder, a Republican, also will detail a plan Wednesday to raise billions of dollars to fix and maintain Michigan’s roads and bridges.

   On Monday, he rejected suggestions that his plan will amount to a tax increase, saying that whatever is spent now will save much more in the future. Not raising the revenue would be like buying a new car and saving money by never changing the oil or performing other maintenance, he said.

   The speech also will talk about the need for commercial transportation corridors, involving not just highways but rail and other modes of transportation, he said.

   House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, said he will hold a news conference today about “the real state of our state” and unveil an initiative to give Michigan residents a greater voice in state government.

   • CONTACT PAUL EGAN: 517-372-8660 OR PEGAN@FREEPRESS.COM  

REGINA H. BOONE/DETROIT FREE PRESS

   Gov. Rick Snyder hasn’t ruled out running for asecond term. “There’s a lot more I want to do,” he said Monday. His State of the State speech Wednesday also is expected to address transportation issues.