WHAT: State Sen. Nicole Poore will unveil legislation Tuesday designed to help retool Delaware’s workforce for a post-pandemic economy by providing hundreds of Delawareans with the skills they need for new careers in high demand fields.
Senate Bill 12 will expand on the highly successful Student Excellence Equal Degree program, or SEED, which has provided free college credits at Delaware Technical Community College to nearly 13,000 local high school graduates since 2005.
Known as SEED+, the legislation would open the scholarship program to adults and others previously excluded. The expansion would allow hundreds of additional Delawareans to seek new skills through either DelTech’s non-credit workforce development programs or its academic credential courses, nearly all of which are transferable to Delaware’s four-year colleges and universities.
DelTech estimates more than 300 Delaware workers could receive two semesters of free no-cost training and/or college credits for each $1 million invested in the proposed SEED+ program. Like the original SEED program, SEED+ would be a last-dollar scholarship, meaning state funding only would be used to fill the gaps between federal aid and the full cost of tuition.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Tuesday, April 13
WHERE: Click here to register in advance for the virtual press conference. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the event.
WHO: Sen. Nicole Poore
Rep. Valerie Longhurst, House Majority Leader
Mark Brainard, President of Delaware Technical Community College
Pam Ridgeway, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Talent, Christiana Care
Matthew Payne, Director, Public Sector, Computer Aid Inc.
Delaware Technical Community College students