As Idaho students head back to school, we wanted to highlight the groundbreaking Idaho Launch program, which is opening doors for thousands of young people. In fact, many of those students are heading to school this semester solely because of Launch. This program offers high school graduates up to $8,000 to train for in-demand careers such as nursing, teaching, welding, engineering, and auto repair. Launch is a triple-boost to Idaho’s economy:
- It makes it possible for students to develop income-increasing skills who may not otherwise be able to afford it;
- it focuses workforce development on the areas most needed by our business community; and
- it keeps students in Idaho, working as a “brain-gain” to reverse the “brain-drain” to other states that we’ve seen too often.
While it’s only been in effect for a year, the early signs are very promising. 9180 graduating students will receive LAUNCH grants this year. These grants will change lives – in many cases doubling or tripling the expected lifetime income of recipients. However, despite its popularity and clear economic benefit, not to mention Gov. Brad Little’s full-throated support, Launch almost didn’t happen at all, and it remains in peril. It passed in 2023 by one vote in the House, with the majority of Republican legislators voting against it – saved only because the entire Democratic caucus supported it. Without us, Launch would have remained only a dream.
As Idaho’s population rapidly increases, the need for skilled young people to work new jobs is essential. We’ll need entrepreneurs to start and run Idaho businesses, engineers and welders for new factories and infrastructure projects. We’ll need more healthcare professionals to take care of us, teachers for our kids, and farmers to feed our growing state.
When we look at the top fields of study, that’s exactly what these young, hardworking, ambitious Launch recipients will be:
- 2,604 are preparing for healthcare careers,
- 860 will study engineering,
- 654 are learning to teach,
- 488 will study business administration,
- 475 will train to be automotive technicians,
- 349 will learn welding, and
- 310 are preparing for careers in agriculture and food industries.
Launch is giving young Idahoans the opportunity to gain the skills that will not only support themselves and their families, but serve our entire state. It is no surprise that Idaho’s business community is excited about Launch – they’ve got job openings they urgently need filled. Launch is a resource for young people who might not feel they could otherwise pursue higher education, Launch tells them that if they’re willing to put in the work, they will have the opportunity to get ahead.
While Launch is a bipartisan program that has been very popular with Idahoans, its future is far from guaranteed. The fact that it squeaked through last year does not mean it will survive going forward — the Legislature could pull the plug any time, and the risk of that grew exponentially after the May Republican primary. The far right, spearheaded by the “Idaho Freedom Foundation” has gone to war against Launch and attacked its supporters relentlessly. Eight of the GOP representatives who voted for it lost their primaries in May, leaving the future of Launch and thousands of young potential grant recipients in peril. Idaho Democrats see the obvious value of this program and we will continue supporting it. But if Idahoans want to preserve Launch, they’ll need to elect more Democrats this November. We need more adults in the room — it’s that simple.
