Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced today $5.89 million for strategic workforce training initiatives to prepare Wisconsin workers and businesses to succeed in the future economy.
"Now more than ever, we must invest in training that gives workers the right skills and meets the needs of employers, especially those in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, health care and other sectors poised for growth," Doyle said. "The Wisconsin Sector Strategies Initiative is a new way of doing business. It is regional in focus. It is industry-driven. It engages all the key players in understanding common industry needs and aligning resources to meet them. It is what we need to build a 21st Century workforce and connect skilled workers to quality jobs."
The Wisconsin Sector Strategies Initiative will be funded with nearly $3 million in federal funds over the next two years. In the months ahead, $490,000 in grants will be awarded as a first step in bringing together leaders of industry, labor, education, economic development and workforce development in the state's seven Grow Wisconsin regions.
Doyle announced the initiatives at a meeting of the Milwaukee 7 Regional Economic Advisory Council at Manpower Inc.'s global headquarters in downtown Milwaukee.

Among the other "Grow Wisconsin – The Next Steps in Doyle's economic plan announced today:

• $1.5 million for Opportunity Grants. The grants will help low-wage workers with no education or training beyond high school.
• $300,000 for Skills Jump Start Grants. The grants will help individuals who lack a high school diploma. They can complete their basic education, and at the same time, receive job training at technical colleges for employment in high-demand sectors, such as manufacturing and health care.
• $700,000 for Emerging Industries Skills Partnership. The governor announced a second round of grants to meet the workforce needs in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and renewable energy.
• $85,000 for Manufacturing Skill Standards Certification. The funding will support assessment efforts and encourage enrollment. Doyle has set a goal of having 40 percent of our production workers earn MSSC credentials by 2016.
• $175,000 for Skills Assessment and Work Readiness Certification.  This funding will support pilot projects to develop a standard method to assess the skills of job seekers and certify them as job ready.
• $140,000 for Career 101 Pilots. The funding will help school district establish pilots that more effectively inform students of career opportunities in high demand occupations and help them chart a course to achieve their career goals.

At the event, Doyle also awarded a $500,000 Regional Marketing Matching Grant to the Milwaukee 7 group to support its regional branding and promotional efforts. Beginning in 2010, M7 will be eligible for up to $100,000 in Department of Commerce funding each year over the next five years to boost its efforts to attract new businesses, create high-paying jobs, and increase economic activity in the M7 region.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 230 points in early morning trading today, wiping out Wednesday's gains, as the market absorbed the news that General Motors Corp. may be headed for bankruptcy.
Locally, the stocks in the BizTimes Index also retreated this morning. The largest local decliners this morning were Manpower Inc. (down $2.28 to $24.47), Rockwell Automation Inc. (down $1.99 to $17.73), A.O. Smith Corp. (down $1.63 to $22.51) and Associated Bancorp (down $1.58 to $11.12).
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, GM said its auditors have raised serious doubts about its ability to continue operations and it may have to seek bankruptcy protection.
"The corporation's recurring losses from operations, stockholders' deficit, and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its obligations and sustain its operations raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," auditors for the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP wrote in the report.
GM has received $13.4 billion in federal loans and is seeking a total of $30 billion from the federal government as it battles for survival amid a severe recession that has devastated auto sales.
The company is trying to meet a March 31 deadline to have signed agreements of concessions from debtholders and the United Auto Workers union to show the government it can become viable again. On Feb. 17 the firm submitted the restructuring plan to the Treasury Department that includes laying off 47,000 workers worldwide by the end of the year and closing five more U.S. factories.
GM said in its filing that its future depends on successfully executing its restructuring plan.
"If we fail to do so for any reason, we would not be able to continue as a going concern and could potentially be forced to seek relief through a filing under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code," GM said in the annual report. "There is no assurance that the global automobile market will recover or that it will not suffer a significant further downturn."
Meanwhile, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday that it has offered to exchange up to 40 percent of its debt for cash and stock. The company and its financial arm are putting up $2.2 billion in cash to entice holders of $10.4 billion in convertible notes, other unsecured debt and secured term debt to take the offer. "This is all part of a restructuring plan to make the company healthier in the end," said Ford spokesman Mark Truby.

Readers of the BizTimes Daily are invited to enter the inaugural BizTimes Media Economic Distraction Plan, a free online pool of NCAA basketball tournament predictions.
To register for the contest, visit http://biztimes.pooltracker.com/tourney.
Contestants must be at least 21 years of age. They can register now and will be reminded to fill out their bracket selections between selection Sunday, March 15, and 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 19.
The first-place individual winner will receive a prize package valued at $500.
Additional prizes will be awarded for second through 10th place.
All contestants who finish with higher point totals than the official BizTimes prediction will be entered into a drawing for more than 50 individual prizes.
The contest also will feature competition for companies. All contestants will compete as individuals, but by registering with their company name and encouraging their co-workers to enter, they will automatically be part of the company competition. The top three companies (total cumulative points of all individuals from the same company) will be profiled in a full-page ad in the April 17 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. The top company also will receive a party for up to 40 people in the Club '71 suite at the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and. Orlando Magic on Monday, April 13, at the Bradley Center, a prize worth more than $2,500.

Contestants will be able to track their results online as the tournament unfolds.
Sponsors who have donated prizes so far for the March Madness pool contest include: the US Bank Championship, Sprecher Brewing, Milwaukee Bucks and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.

Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's Corp. reported today that its same-store sales fell 1.6 percent in February.
For all of the company's stores, total sales for the four weeks ended Feb. 28 rose 3.6 percent to just over $1 billion, up from $971.6 million last year. As of Feb. 28, the company operated 1,004 stores in 48 states, compared to 929 in 47 states at the same time last year.
"February's sales results exceeded our expectations as regular price selling offset significantly lower levels of clearance sales," said Kevin Mansell, president and chief executive officer. "Although we are pleased with the results, we intend to continue to plan sales conservatively and flow receipts accordingly in 2009.”

Nearly $100 million from the federal stimulus package has been announced for projects in Green Bay. That money will go toward improving water, roads and municipal facilities, such as the Brown County Library. Read more in BizTimes Milwaukee's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

Stephen Bablitch, a former secretary of the Department of Administration for Gov. Jim Doyle and a former chief executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wisconsin, will soon join Aurora Health Care's senior leadership team. Read more about local business people on the move in this week's edition of BizTimes Bubbler Weekly.

Whitefish Bay High School declined an offer from a local business executive to sponsor a substance abuse program by Bob Stutman, formerly the "head narc" for the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York office. Read more in today's Milwaukee Biz Blog by Dennis Ellmaurer.

Racine-based Johnson Bank, part of Johnson Financial Group, has decided to decline participation in the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) after being notified the bank was authorized to receive as much as $100 million in federal funding last week.
"While in the short-term those dollars are attractive to a growing company like ours, in the long-term they would compromise the things we hold most dear - including the unique culture of our company," said Richard Hansen, president and chief executive officer of Johnson Financial Group. "You can't place a value on values."
A growing number of healthy banks are rejecting funds from the Treasury Department's $700 billion T.A.R.P. program, citing concerns over their ability to run their business as well as the government's restrictions on institutions that participate.
"We believe accepting funds would stand in the way of our mission, vision and values - the very things that have allowed our company to grow the last few decades," Hansen said. "Plus, we're able to sustain growth without the funds."
The privately owned financial services company is owned by members of the Samuel C. Johnson Family. The late Samuel Johnson's daughter, Helen Johnson Leipold, serves as chairman of Johnson Financial Group.
"One of the benefits of being a fifth-generation, family-owned company are the values that have guided and kept us strong through good times and bad. It's what our clients, associates have come to expect and simply can't be measured in dollars and cents," Hansen said.
Johnson Financial Group was recently recognized as #25 on Fortune magazine's 100 Best Places to Work in the country.