In May, we announced here that Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel‘s Dirty Jobs has partnered with Discovery Communications on a new multimedia initiative, Discover Your Skills, that provides unemployed and underemployed Americans with access to resources for obtaining marketable job skills while also raising the awareness of employment opportunities. It includes www.DiscoverYourSkills.com, an online resource providing links and information to help educate, prepare and advance entry to the workforce. 

Today, Discovery announced the expansion of Discover Your Skills, including a partnership with Montgomery College focused on better preparing students with the necessary skills to take advantage of available job opportunities, and the airing of eight public service announcements (PSAs) across its US networks and digital platforms highlighting career opportunities in the skilled trades and the importance of training workers to fill critical jobs in manufacturing, health care, energy, technology, construction and other industries. 

Here are three of the PSAs, featuring Mike Rowe, Buddy Valastro of TLC‘s Cake Boss, and Jeannette Torres from Discovery Familia:

Also today, Discovery announced that its Discovery Education division will introduce a community college service for the 2012-2013 academic year. The new service will provide curriculum-based content to support post-secondary institutions and prepare students with skills necessary to compete in today’s job market.  

The new initiatives and three of the PSAs were unveiled today at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Md., by Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav; Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley; Montgomery College President DeRionne P. Pollard, Ph.D.; US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Maryland Labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez; Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett; and Penny Pritzker, Advisory Board Chair, Skills for America’s Future, The Aspen Institute.