SENATORS SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE NEARLY $3 MILLION FOR MAINE MANUFACTURERS

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today announced that the Department of Labor has awarded $2,996,724 to the Maine Department of Economic Development. These funds, made available through the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, will implement training and procedures to help small machine shops throughout New England win contracts. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, Elaine Chao, personally contacted Senators Snowe and Collins by phone to inform them of this grant.

"There are a number of highly skilled small manufacturing companies in Maine that are simply unable to compete with larger companies for contracting bids. This project will give smaller qualified companies the resources to better compete," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. "Further, this project will allow individuals to advance, creating entry-level jobs and advanced training for current employees."

The Maine Department of Economic Development will carry out this project by partnering with Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in New England to provide accelerated training for Computer-Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine workers. In conjunction with the training, the project will simplify the process for bidding and production, allowing small companies to successfully compete for contracts.

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