Law to connect workers with existing jobs through tailored training

General Electric in Lynn and people who aspire to work there are among those expected to benefit from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, signed by President Obama this week.The law is a bipartisan bill intended to help employers and workers nationwide by educating and training the workforce with the skills to get existing jobs that employers need to fill.Obama said that the new bill will use federal funds and programs more efficiently by moving away from a “train and pray” method, in which people would be trained for a job and then hope to get hired in that field in favor of more specific methods.?We want to make sure we train workers first based on what employers are telling you they’re hiring for,” said Obama. “We’re creating a pipeline into the jobs that are already out there.”U.S. Rep. John Tierney said that with the new law, regions will find out which of their industries need the most help with getting an educated workforce and will then be able to tailor educational programs to fit their needs.?We’re not creating new jobs; we’re just educating people so that they can fill the jobs that already exist but need to be filled,” Tierney said.Tierney explained that the act was designed to help people at all levels: high school grads, those who need to graduate, college grads and anyone who needs skills for a job. The plan also includes helping people with everything from basic language, communication and math skills, up to advanced technology training to fill jobs at all levels, through specialized training and apprenticeships.Bill Tinti, former chairman of both the North Shore Workforce Investment Board and Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board Association, helped Tierney write the bill and said that in Massachusetts it is estimated that around 100,000 jobs are vacant because of a lack of trained personnel.?We are trying to eliminate the skills gap that keeps people from getting jobs,” Tinti said. “In Massachusetts, especially in the North Shore we have a lot of advanced manufacturing positions that need to be filled at places like GE and Raytheon. The average age of workers at GE is around 55 years old, and they need more young people with the necessary training to help with their manufacturing.”Some other industries in Massachusetts that need more trained professionals include the biotech, medical and technology industries according to Tinti.Tierney used GE’s E-Team program as an example of how effective it can be to train people for specific jobs. According to the program’s website, eteamhome.net, the E-team program’s purpose is to train individuals for jobs as machinists on the North Shore that are in very high demand. The program has successfully prepared many of its graduates for jobs at various different companies like GE, Boston Centerless, Ametek Aerospace, Sterling Machine, Gillette and dozens of other companies.?This is a big middle-class bill,” said Tierney. “It’s hopefully going to help people get many of the jobs back that were lost during the recession.”Obama said that the programs that receive federal funding will be required to make public the information on how many of their graduates get jobs and how much they make on average so that prospective workers will know if they will get a good return on their investment in such a program.?Every job seeker should have the tools they need to take their career into their own hands. We’re going to help make sure that they can do that,” Obama said.Eric Adrien may be reached at [email protected]. Information from White House videos was used in this report.