Dear Friends,
Yesterday I attended the Southeast Minnesota Together conference, a forum for business leaders, legislators, and other state and local officials to talk about the workforce challenges facing Southeast Minnesota. We heard from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development about their efforts to improve job training and the different programs that are available to help train workers for high-demand fields with job openings. We also had some very productive conversations with the many local business people about issues specifically in Albert Lea and the surrounding areas.
A big problem right now, especially for our area in Greater Minnesota, is that businesses have a lot of job openings but can't find qualified workers to fill those positions. The legislature passed job training grants this year to help businesses defray the cost of training new workers, and passed multiple programs to encourage folks to go into teaching, long-term care, and other health fields where we need workers to fill existing openings. We also froze and reduced tuition at our two year MNSCU schools to encourage more kids to consider going into the trades and other vocational/tech fields.
I talked about the important role MNSCU plays in our community's workforce during the Senate Capital Investment Committee's recent tour of Riverland. Riverland is working to address some of our workforce issues with their bonding request which would help with repurpose and reorganize their Transportation, Trade, and Industrial Education Center and attract and train more students in high-demand fields. Read more about that visit in the Albert Lea Tribune by clicking here.
This is a problem that will take many years to fix and won't be solved with any one policy overnight. The good news is we've made steps in the right direction, and will continue making progress on this issue so employers—especially in Greater Minnesota—find the workers they need to make our rural economies thrive.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, ideas, or questions on this or any other topic. Email me any time at rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn or call 651-296-8216. You can also follow my updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RepPeggyBennett or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PeggyABennett.
Have a wonderful weekend! Drive safely and watch out for trick-or-treaters tomorrow!
Peggy
Peggy Bennett
State Representative, District 27A
651-296-8216
rep.peggy.bennett@house.mn