Obama unveils federal push for worker training

President Barack Obama unveiled a new federal initiative Monday to work with communities across the nation to train more people for high-paying technology jobs, winning praise from several tech industry associations.

Speaking at the National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C., Obama said the new TechHire initiative would focus on more than 20 communities with more than 120,000 open technology jobs. He pledged up to $100 million in federal investments to train low-skill workers to fill those jobs.

Among the groups applauding the decision was CompTIA, which said it had been working with Congress and the administration to make IT job training a priority.

"The average IT worker's salary is double that of the private sector and we must continue to expand access to these jobs, many of which do not require a four-year degree," CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux said.

The announcement also earned accolades from the Information Technology Industry Council.

"As the president noted today, there are over half a million information technology jobs that are going unfilled," ITI CEO Dean Garfield said. "We agree that more can be done to help American workers, especially in underserved and underrepresented communities, get the skills and training they need to fill these good paying jobs, and the technology sector is a strong partner in that effort."