Substitute Senate Bill No. 1260 seeks to enhance manufacturing workforce training opportunities for women in Connecticut by establishing the Connecticut Career Accelerator Program Account within the Office of Workforce Strategy. The bill mandates the design of a program to support individuals pursuing commercial driver's license training by July 1, 2024, and to identify additional training opportunities for careers requiring less than one year of training by July 1, 2025. Key provisions include prioritizing women in training programs, providing financial counseling services, and developing metrics for qualified training providers. The bill also deletes previous language regarding payment obligations and adds new language emphasizing the prioritization of women and the requirement to notify female participants about available counseling services.

Additionally, the bill requires regional workforce investment boards to specifically market youth manufacturing training programs to female high school students and mandates the Connecticut State Community College to provide career and financial counseling services to all women applying for manufacturing-related training programs. Both the Office of Workforce Strategy and regional boards must report annually on participant demographics starting January 1, 2026. The effective date for these provisions is set for July 1, 2025, and the bill includes new legal language to establish these requirements while amending existing statutes.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 4-124mm
HED Joint Favorable: 4-124mm
File No. 171: 4-124mm