Obama proposing more spending on job training programs

WASHINGTON (AP) – As part of his budget recommendations next week, President Barack Obama will propose spending nearly $6 billion more on programs designed to help young people land their first job.

Some of the recommendations have been made before without success and it’s unclear if they’ll fare any better this year.

The White House said Wednesday that much of the money would fund grants designed to cover up to half of a young person’s wages. Another grant program would subsidize community partnerships that focus on helping at-risk youth get a high school diploma and a job.

About one in seven Americans between the ages of 16-24 are not in school and don’t have a job. The White House said the additional investment would help more than 1 million people gain work.

“How much of it will we get in this upcoming budget? I don’t know. But what I can say is there is bipartisan understanding the cost of doing nothing for young people is inordinate,” said Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.

The president will also revisit his call to create an apprenticeship training fund. About $2 billion would go toward programs that encourage companies and public entities to hire more apprentices who learn job skills while also earning a salary.

The White House won’t say yet how the president would pay for the job programs, but said the details would be part of next week’s budget request.