A wide-ranging education workforce law that takes effect Thursday will create a program designed to help fill job vacancies in various trade skills.

State Rep. Ann Kelly, R-Lamar, carried SB 150 in the Missouri House. It includes the Career-Tech Certificate program, which she has been sponsoring for several years.

“Have you called for a plumber lately? Or have you called for an electrician and how long is that wait and how expensive are they?” She said. “So, if we get more people in those programs, we’ll have less wait time and maybe they won’t be quite as expensive.”

Once it’s up and running, the Career-Tech Certificate program will cover the cost of books, tuition, and fees for eligible students at community colleges, tech schools, and industry-approved training programs.

“This is

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