The BDN’s Feb. 6 editorial “Job Training Critical Conduit,” praising a proposal by Gov. Paul LePage to drastically revamp the state’s job training programs was short on facts.
It is correct in saying, “publicly funded job training should get the same attention that higher education gets,” and that “it has the potential to sustain an important tier of the economy and provide a ladder out of low-wage jobs.”
What the editorial doesn’t do, and what the governor hasn’t done, is make the case that Maine’s current system of providing job training for displaced and economically disadvantaged workers isn’t working. Frankly, it is working.
In order to implement the governor’s drastic changes, the federal government will have to grant the state a waiver of federal law, similar to the Department of Health and Human Services waiver, which is also unlikely to be granted. There was also little involvement of the state’s Chamber groups which are being asked to play a key role, something they are wholly unprepared to do.
Of even more concern, the governor’s proposal was drafted and put forward without discussion with the Workforce Boards who are most affected. The governor claims that the Workforce Boards spend only 20 percent of their funds for job training with the rest going for administration and overhead. This is false.
To make his claim that 80 percent of the job training funds are going to overhead, the governor fails to include the funds for training services that are mandated by law and go to such things as remedial education, resume writing and job search assistance.
Federal law limits the Workforce Boards to spending only 10 percent of their funds on administrative costs. According to the latest government audits for all contracts approved by the Maine Department of Labor, all of the Workforce Boards are in compliance with this requirement.
The governor fails to mention that each year before the Workforce Boards even receive their dollars from the federal government, the state withholds up to 25 percent of allocated funds for its own administration and overhead costs. If the governor believes more money should be going directly to job training, the Workforce Boards would gladly distribute these funds for additional work force training.
For nearly 12 years, the Workforce Boards have been successful in supplementing their federal allocations with grants and other leveraged funds not included as part of the administration’s accounting. These additional job-training funds would be in jeopardy if the administration obliterates the capacity to obtain these funds.
Finally, the governor claims the success rate for placing participants in jobs is low, 44 percent over the last two years. His analysis is wrong. The truth is that Maine’s Workforce Boards have achieved 75 to 80 percent success rate in placing participants.
Even in a slow economy, Maine’s Workforce Boards are in the top 10 percent nationally in several areas of performance, and each board has received federal incentive award funds for performance that is spent on additional work force training and service projects.
At a time when our economy is still lagging from the recent recession and so many Maine citizens need assistance, it is not the time to scrap a job training strategy that’s working well and instead roll the dice on a new and untested plan.
Ted St. Amand is president of Atlantic Pest Solutions in Arundel. He is former chairman of the Coastal Counties Workforce Board and a member of the Southern Midcoast Chamber of Commerce.
Ted St. Amand, since you are a member of the a Chamber of Commerce, maybe you could shed some light on where these mysterious 20,000 high tech jobs are that Governor LePage has said are going unfilled in the state of Maine?
Fischer plows in Rockland. They are having a heck of a time finding people to weld plows for $10 an hour.
all they have to do is hire some qualified trainees, and teach them how to weld. It’s been done for decades by industries all over the country. and $10 an hour is certainly not going to attract a qualified experienced welder from another job, that’s stock boy money.
That is what production welders get paid in Texas, a right to work state. I know because I used to hire them by the dozen. This is not a living wage for a skilled worker. If the problem is a shortage of people to work in tech jobs that pay peanuts, that is another matter altogether. That isn’t what the governor made it sound like. Right to work will make matters worse for working people like welders, pipe fitters, masons, carpenters, equipment operators and anyone else who works with their hands and backs. This $10 per hour welding job is the future for Maine workers if we go with right to work. It is a big step backwards.
I hope you realize that $10 an hour doesn’t even give you the equivelent of 1965’s minimum wage purchase power. Do they offer pension and health insurance benefits? If so, how good are they? Is it possible to find an affordable rent in the Rockland area on a salary of $10 per hr.?
In 1961 JFK signed the Fair Labor Act that raised the minimum wage to $1.65 an hour. If the minimum wage was even trying to keep pace with inflation, the wage today should be around $15 an hour. The failure of wages to keep pace with inflation is the single biggest problem with our economy today. It always amazes me how few people understand that if your pay is not going up 3% a year, it is the same as taking a pay cut. In fact, I have never met a Republican that would concede that point, ever.
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Pat, a very vaild point Sir. Ted, there are a great many folk’s, both Downstate and up here in The County, that are still waiting to see LePage deliver on his statement’s regarding these types of job’s. So far up here all we’re seeing are more of the same old stuff, fast food, gas station’s and health care. Ted, there is a limit to how long this can go on before the voter’s finally have to admit that they’ve been ‘hose’d’ and take it out in the upcoming polls. Both Democrat’s and GOP’rs need to start sitting down, some place neutral, and start talking about what Maine has, and can do without giving away the whole ‘house’, that can be used to best advantage. And if some of the more radical of each side want to have their ‘say’, fine. Have it. But have something else to bring to the table besides a bunch of temper tantrum soaked crying towel’s ! The time for that has long since passed.
And while I may not be his biggest fan, there is one area that I will give Paulie his due, namely the Kestrel Fiasco. LePage was more than right in just letting them go. The fact that Kestrel wouldn’t provide all of the information regarding it’s own business financing, it’s current financial position’s (that were and are a sound requirement for any Joint Venture to see when investing), it’s current and planned sales and aircraft development and it’s marketing plan all were serious red flag’s that LePage saw as huge warning signs. In this one area LePage’s experience with Marden’s (Now hold your tongue ! ) was both practical and critical in keeping Maine from getting the loosing end of the deal. That Kestrel had a track record of corporate debt in both South Dakota and Minnesota for unpaid lease space for hanger’s and manufacturing space was more than ample reason for Paulie to ‘pull the plug’ on the deal. And in case anyone didn’t notice, Kestrel was also in negotiation with NH for space in their State. But where did Kestrel go ? Wisconsin, not NH ! Now gee, I wonder why ? Maybe NH saw Kestrel’s record before we did and just got out before they were going to be burned. Either way, in this one instance, LePage did just what he was elected to do. Practice prudence balanced with opportunity for growth and advancement.
I totally agree. IMO and limited knowledge of business, the Kestrel deal sounded way too good
Here we have a disagreement between the Governor and Mr. St. Amand about easily checked facts. BDN investigative journalists to the fore!
BDN? BDN?
This is certainly no surprise, LePage never let’s fact get in the way of his garbage. One after another, week after week, Lepage wants to tear down any program that works, just because it’s something he’s told to do by his puppeteers MHPC and ALEC. LePage is still stuck in the same rut as he was in the 2010 campaign season, make up problems, back your stories with outrageous lies, and blame his predecessers for anything that happens,
Another form of welfare only this is for business. Business expects the government to train its workers for it and then complains because the state doesn’t do a good job. I still don’t understand why business doesn’t set up its own apprentice programs. That would assure them of properly trained workers.
And we’re supposed to believe any “facts” and figures coming out ot the LePage administration?