Senators Collins and Cantwell are petitioning the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Senators Kent Conrad and Pete Domenici respectively, to increase funding as an investment in preparing a skilled workforce – an element critical to our nation's economic future. Their letter to the Committee leaders has been signed by 40 of their Senate colleagues.
"One of the best ways to prepare for a long-term economic recovery is to invest in the retooling of our economic engine, our workers," said Senator Collins. "We need to ensure that funds are available to meet the needs of our unemployed workers and to make available to them intensive training services that are matched to local employers' needs."
Among other programs, the Workforce Investment Act funds 23 centers throughout Maine that provide valuable services to dislocated workers. These services include individualized career counseling, access to the Maine Job bank as well as workforce-related computer applications, vocational assessments, relocation assistance, internships, occupational skills training, job readiness training, and skill upgrading and retraining. The job centers also provided services for employers, including information regarding Maine labor laws.
The Senator also noted to the Committee that programs authorized under the WIA are in only their second year of implementation. "Continuing our commitment to WIA programs is crucial to addressing increases in unemployment. Our nation's recovery will be driven largely by our competitiveness in global labor markets. We must ensure that our workers are able to seize this opportunity to obtain the skills that give us a leading edge in both existing and emerging sectors when the economy eventually experiences a resurgence."
In the past 15 months, some 2.4 million workers have been added to the nation's unemployment rolls. "With our nation still suffering the effects of recession, we need to increase our commitment to workforce training. We need to send a strong message of support for our workers," the Senator said.