Baucus pushes grants for job-skill education

America’s need to swiftly retrain its work force reminds Sen. Max Baucus of the urgency the United States felt when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, kicking off the space race.

By JANE RIDER of the Missoulian

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/10/30/news/mtregional/news08.txt

"It’s a different kind of Sputnik, a stealth Sputnik," he told a crowd of students gathered at the University of Montana’s College of Technology on Friday.

"We’ve got to really get moving. China and India are developing all these skills. The competition worldwide is fierce," he said.

That’s why Baucus, D-Mont., has teamed up with Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., to introduce legislation aimed at boosting community and technology colleges to better train students in skills most needed in their communities so they can find work in good-paying jobs when they graduate.

The bill – which Congress will likely consider early next year as part of reauthorization of the Higher Education Affordability, Access and Opportunity Act – would establish $60 million in grants that higher education institutions, businesses and local work-force agencies could apply for to meet local job-skill needs. About $15 million would be available for businesses to do on-the-job training.

"This bill will help us define what job skills are most needed in our communities, and then allow our community colleges and colleges of technology to train students to fill those needs," Baucus said.

"This is about putting our businesses in touch with our schools and helping our schools produce a highly trained, skilled work force. That’s the key to economic development and jobs in our state," he said.

Baucus visited Missoula on Friday to tour a heavy-equipment area and operate a grater at the College of Technology and then meet with university officials and students to gather input to fine-tune the legislation.

COT dean R. Paul Williamson pointed to several sectors of Missoula’s economy that would benefit from the bill. In the health care field, employers need highly trained workers in nursing, radiology, surgical and pharmacy technology, medical assistance and respiratory care.

The college could enhance training it already does in the health care field as well as train electricians for firms such as S&K Electronics and manufacturing workers for companies such as Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.

Baucus noted that in Montana, many colleges of technology have job placement rates as high as 100 percent. Each of the state’s seven tribal colleges, five technical schools, and three community colleges would benefit and be eligible to participate in the new program if the bill passes.

The legislation would provide first-time college students in their first and second years an extra $2,000 in loan eligibility if they pursue training for jobs in high-growth occupations.

The key to helping students reach self-sufficiency on their own is to make sure their programs of study are connected to the work force, Baucus said.

He noted under current federal programs like the Workforce Investment Act, states already have the infrastructure to help identify growing work force areas and can help institutions of higher education develop training or academic programs to meet these needs.

As globalization creates a more interdependent and thus competitive world, the need for highly skilled workers has never been greater, he said. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that more than 80 percent of new jobs created in the next 10 years will require some level of postsecondary education. To prevent these high-wage jobs from moving offshore, additional training is essential, he said.

Baucus is hopeful that the legislation will receive strong support in Congress, noting its bipartisan origin.

"I have no doubt this is going to be popular," he said.

Reporter Jane Rider can be reached at 523-5298 or at [email protected].