Gov. Ricketts, State Leaders Introduce College Scholarship Initiative

Governor Pete Ricketts and other Nebraska leaders announced Monday a new education initiative in an effort to increase workforce talent and keep skilled workers in the state.

The new initiative, Nebraska Talent Scholarships, will be offered to students in the Nebraska university system and state and community colleges in increments of four-thousand and two-thousand dollars, respectively. According to Ricketts, the scholarships will target students looking to pursue careers in fields needed by businesses in the state, such as engineering, industrial technology and computer information systems.

With 250 scholarships being proposed for university and state college and 65 for community college, Ricketts said the state will look to the schools on how to best implement the program relative to the needs of Nebraska businesses.

“By engaging those students from anywhere from 7^th to 8^th grade up to the community colleges and to our colleges, this will help us be able to prepare our workforce for the future to allow our Nebraska companies to continue to expand, hire them and allow our Nebraska families to enjoy the good life,” Ricketts said.

Ricketts also said the program will look to expand the existing Youth Talent Initiative from two to twelve grants. The program will seek approval by the Nebraska Legislature before its implementation.