The legislature finds that a vocational institute in the central area of the city of Seattle provides civic, social, and economic benefits to the people of the state of Washington. Economic development is enhanced by increasing the number of skilled individuals who enter the labor market and social welfare costs are reduced by the training of individuals lacking marketable skills. The students at the institute are historically economically disadvantaged, and include racial and ethnic minorities, recent immigrants, single-parent heads of households, and persons who are dislocated workers or without specific occupational skills. The institute presents a unique opportunity for business, labor, and community-based organizations, and educators to work together to provide effective vocational-technical training to the economically disadvantaged of urban Seattle, and to serve as a national model of such cooperation. Moreover, a trained workforce is a major factor in attracting new employers, and with greater minority participation in the workforce, the institute is uniquely located to deliver training and education to the individuals employers must increasingly turn to for their future workers.