An Act To Address the Unmet Workforce Needs of Employers and To Improve the Economic Future of Workers

CONCEPT DRAFT SUMMARY

This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.

This bill proposes to enact a comprehensive package of proposals designed to address the unmet workforce needs of employers and to improve the economic future of workers. These proposals may include, but are not limited to, proposals to:

1. Identify workforce needs;

2. Connect businesses with trained workers;

3. Maximize the benefits of educational assessment funding by focusing the funds on the students;

4. Provide incentives for educational institutions receiving state training funds to place graduates into the employment or school of the graduates' choice;

5. Strengthen the ability of the Maine Quality Centers, established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 12725, to fulfill their mission of meeting the workforce education and training needs of new and expanding businesses in the State and providing new employment and career advancement opportunities for Maine people;

6. Design diverse programs to meet the needs of Maine employers;

7. Prepare untrained workers to meet immediate and long-term needs;

8. Allow military training to count towards required training for certain certifications and licenses;

9. Establish a clearinghouse to connect workers with employers;

10. Identify educational programs necessary for specific types of employment and create a process to preemploy prospective workers while they are being trained;

11. Provide to people receiving public assistance the opportunity to permanently leave poverty behind by providing skills training that offers academic degrees, certifications or credentials and leads to employment with wages that can sustain families;

12. Establish workforce training programs targeted exclusively at individuals who are on public assistance or whose incomes meet certain criteria and provide transitional benefits including child care, health care, transportation supports and educational supports;

13. Align Maine's system of learning results with technical skills for current employment needs, support technical courses in high schools and integrate those courses with the high school curriculum and identify for middle school and secondary school students career paths that include alternatives that do not require college educations;

14. Identify barriers to the reentry by older citizens into the workforce;

15. Establish a program to identify and eliminate unfavorable tax policies with respect to retirement income and pensions and tax policies that discourage older citizens and retirees from returning to the workforce; and

16. Promote education to allow seniors to develop new skills.