AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine’s Republican governor wants to direct more federal funding to job training, despite criticism that his proposal would take away money for career counseling and hurt vulnerable job seekers.
Maine Department of Labor spokeswoman Laura Hudson said Monday that Gov. Paul LePage’s administration recently submitted his plan to demand local workforce boards spend 70 percent of federal funds on job training.
But leaders of Maine’s workforce development boards say his proposal would siphon funding from career counseling and other services for job-seekers that don’t count as “job training.”
Federal law limits the boards from spending more than 10 percent of funds on administrative costs.
Northeastern Workforce Development Board Executive Director Joanna Russell says LePage’s proposal would cut services for workers who are chronically homeless, veterans, ex-offenders or recovering from addiction.
