Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Higher Education Engineering topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House committee backs moving engineering initiative into Talent Ready Utah, requires industry representation on boards
Summary
The House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee favorably recommended HB 131 to move the Engineering and Computer Science Initiative into the Talent Ready Utah program and require boards to include at least four members with extensive industry experience; the committee approved the bill by voice vote.
The House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee on Wednesday voted to favorably recommend HB 131, which would place the longstanding Engineering and Computer Science Initiative under the Talent Ready Utah program and require each related advisory board to include at least four members with extensive experience in the field.
Representative Peterson presented the bill, saying it “put[s] [the Engineering and Computer Science Initiative] into TalentReady” to better align higher education and workforce services and adding that boards should have “at least 4 members of the board who have extensive experience in that field.” Jimmy McDonough, assistant commissioner for Higher Education Workforce Programs, told the committee that the language is intended to keep Talent Ready’s work “directionally aligned with industry.”
Representative Colin Jack moved that the committee approve HB 131; no second was recorded in the transcript. After brief remarks in support, the committee approved the bill by voice vote. Chair Representative Hawkins ruled the motion passed unanimously.
Representative Peterson told the committee the Engineering and Computer Science Initiative has been operating in the state since the 1980s, that it previously had about 12 representatives, and that the program has “doubled our engineering graduates.” He added the state has “about 4,000 empty engineering positions today” and said Hill Air Force Base could hire every engineering graduate available.
The bill would codify the engineering initiative as one of the talent initiatives managed by the Talent Ready Utah board and would set the minimum industry-experience requirement for each board. Committee members did not ask for additional amendments during the hearing, and no public commenters spoke on the measure during the committee’s public comment period.
The committee gave HB 131 a favorable recommendation; the bill will move forward in the legislative process for additional consideration.
