Rodriguez attended a program called Per Scholas, which trains computer repair technicians in the nation's poorest congressional district, in the Bronx. Like dozens of programs around the country built on a similar model, it evolved by working closely with employers in high-growth sectors of the local economy, tailoring its training to the precise entry-level skills that were most in demand. Earlier training programs were much less targeted to the needs of labor markets.
In an ever-more-wired New York, Per Scholas places close to 80 percent of its graduates in jobs from Wall Street to tiny nonprofits. Most make about $12 an hour within a year, and many make $15 an hour in two years, according to school records. Rodriguez, who is 25, makes $12.72 an hour plus health insurance at Time Warner Cable, where she has been a broadband specialist for a year at a Queens call center.
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...But state support now is increasing because sectoral training fits into many states' approach to economic development. Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D), is awarding $15 million to alliances of employers, community colleges, universities and training programs to feed skilled workers into nine industries with potential for rising wages. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is considering sectoral-training proposals endorsed by his transition team. And the National Governors Association is urging all governors to embrace the approach.
Now that sounds like true boldness. Of course, those governors are Democrats. Why have we hard nothing from Mitch Daniels on this?
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