<p><pre><code> The Administration will launch a $100 million H-1B grant competition by
the Department of Labor to support innovative approaches to training and
successfully employing low-skill individuals with barriers to training
and employment including those with child care responsibilities, people
with disabilities, disconnected youth, and limited English proficient
workers, among others.
</code></pre>
The bit about H1-B I think means funded by H1-B fees, not that it has anything to do with the H1B program. I have a sinking feeling that Obama thinks an "IT job" is the guy answering helpdesk calls who tells you to check if everything is plugged in.<p>An 'interesting' bullet at the very end;<p><pre><code> Information Technology Industry-Credentialing partnerships. The President’s
FY2016 budget proposes $300 million to fund IT jobs partnerships between
regional employers to develop and adopt assessments and credentials that will
give more people the chance to qualify for a better, higher-paying tech job
regardless of their pedigree.
</code></pre>
Shit, I think Starfighter just got its A round! ;-) But of course Starfighter is the absolute last thing that would ever emerge from a program like this.<p>What's missing from this press release? Two things in particular stand out to me; 1) Not a peep about getting more software development / hacking / coding / scripting / <i>building</i> more firmly into K-12, and 2) Nothing about encouraging and helping support <i>startup</i> hiring, the actual engine of job creation. How about a program which helps fund community Maker Studios across the nation?<p>Basically this whole things reads like $400 million of pilot studies which will go nowhere and do nothing. We'd probably be much better off running a highly publicized national / crowdsourced business competition to award 5,000 people $10k - $50k grants over the next 5 years. I'm not saying it would <i>all</i> be money well spent, but probably better than the distinct flushing noise I'm hearing with this one. That, or please just mail $1 back to every citizen.