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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><img width="624" height="147" style="width:6.5in;height:1.5312in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.png@01D95CC3.7C1E29F0" alt="Graphical user interface, text
Description automatically generated"></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">March 22, 2023
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><u><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Gov. Little applauds Senate passage of Launch to train students for in-demand careers<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little issued the following statement today applauding the Idaho Senate for its passage of House Bill 24, known as “Launch,” the Governor’s
proposed solution to getting Idaho students trained for in-demand careers and keep Idaho students in Idaho.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The Senate also passed the Launch trailer bill, Senate Bill 1167, which now heads to the House for approval.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“Thank you and congratulations to the Idaho Senate for your support of Launch! I especially appreciate Senators Dave Lent and Kevin Cook
for carrying the bill in the Senate!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“Launch will provide Idaho students entering our workforce with rewarding in-demand career opportunities and help employers hire the skilled
workers they desperately need. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“Our students without the means to ‘go on’ after high school will have a more robust pathway to a rewarding career.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“This is about Idaho students STAYING in Idaho to WORK in Idaho jobs!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“Eighty percent of voters supported the biggest investment we’ve ever made in career and workforce training in state history, and I am proud
of my partners in the Legislature for listening to the people and following through on the mandate the people have given us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“There is no better way to support our employers than to get workers through their doors with the training they need to propel themselves
and Idaho’s economy forward.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">“We’re focused now on getting the trailer bill through the House. We’re almost there in achieving a transformative change for Idaho students,
families, and businesses!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The program, with the edits of the trailer bill, makes available $8,000 to qualifying Idaho high school seniors starting in 2024 to help pay for enrollment in an Idaho-based
education or training program geared toward careers in high demand in our state – “real world” professions such as nursing, truck driving, information technology, electricians, welding, teaching, construction, finance professionals, mechanics, plumbing, and
others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a name="_Hlk127361708"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Two-thirds of workers in Idaho are employed by small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Information from the Idaho Department of Labor shows
Idaho is missing an opportunity to get students into high-demand careers with our employers. In 2022, Idaho’s severe worker shortage saw an average of more than 56,000 open positions, representing an economy underutilized.
<o:p></o:p></span></a></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark:_Hlk127361708"></span>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Idaho is expected to graduate approximately 23,000 high school students this year. Most graduates of state universities and community colleges stay to work in the state
or area where they received their education or training after high school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">In the November 2022 election, the voters of Idaho overwhelmingly approved the $80 million for in-demand career training passed by the Idaho Legislature and the Governor
during the 2022 extraordinary session last year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"># # #<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Please DO NOT REPLY to this message. For press inquiries only, contact the Governor’s press office at (208) 854-3015 or e-mail
</span></i><a href="mailto:Madison.Hardy@gov.idaho.gov"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Madison.Hardy@gov.idaho.gov</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">.
</span></i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">To unsubscribe from these announcements, send an e-mail to
</span></i><a href="mailto:news@gov.idaho.gov"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">news@gov.idaho.gov</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">.</span></i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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