Bucks County lawmakers announced the Bucks County Workforce Development Board has received $233,035 in funding to provide summer internships for students and young adults, last week. 

State Reps. Tina Davis, John Galloway, Wendy Ullman and Perry Warren, all D-Bucks, announced the funding for the SLIP program Thursday. 

SLIP is part of the Wolf administration’s strategic investments in workforce development to help prepare students and young adults for successful careers.

“This funding will strengthen the network between employers, our youth and the Bucks County Workforce Development Board,” Davis said. “This network will ensure Bucks County has a highly trained and productive workforce that will attract high-paying jobs to the region for years to come.”

“Studies have shown that on-the-job training is as important to a worker’s productivity as the classroom,” Galloway said. “These summer internships will give our youth invaluable experience that will make them highly desirable candidates on the job market.”

“This grant money meets an urgent need to improve and expand workforce training in Bucks County,” Ullman said. “The more trained the workforce, the greater the workplace’s efficiency and productivity. A trained workforce is the basis for a prosperous Bucks County.”

Warren said, “Development of 21st century occupational skills benefits our youth, our employers and our economy — now and in the future.”

SLIP is funded through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which helps young adults develop workforce preparation skills by providing participants with their first work experience. The 2020 SLIP will operate for an eight-week period between May 1 and Aug. 28, 2020. The program will offer wages at a minimum of $10.35 an hour for young adults between ages 16 and 24.

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