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. The program will prioritize women in manufacturing-related training and provide career and financial counseling services. Additionally, it requires regional workforce investment boards to market youth manufacturing training programs specifically to female high school students in grades eleven and twelve.

The bill also includes provisions for developing metrics for training providers, implementing incentive-based payments, and conducting outreach efforts targeting underserved populations, including women. The Office of Workforce Strategy is tasked with submitting annual reports on the program's design, implementation, and demographic participation starting July 1, 2026. Notably, the bill introduces new legal language to enhance support for women in manufacturing training programs, while it does not delete any existing legal language. The effective date for these provisions is set for July 1, 2025.

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