By Pat Moody | Posted May 21, 2021 | As more and more advanced skills jobs are calling for both skills and training beyond a high school diploma, at least job applicants in Michigan who take advantage of the Michigan Reconnect programs are getting a tuition-free opportunity to prepare for those life-changing jobs. Michigan had established a goal of getting 60,000 into programs like the tuition-free Futures for Frontliners effort by Memorial Day. That day arrives soon, but there are already 70,000 applicants set to receive assistance in attaining an associates degree or a skills certificate, surpassing that ambitious goal. The Michigan Reconnect program is putting more than 70,000 Michigan residents on a path to fill the state’s most in-demand, high-wage careers, at a time when so many of those jobs have been languishing for lack of talent to fill them.