PORTLAND, Maine - U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez is visiting Maine with Sen. Susan Collins today to highlight the importance of training partnerships that provide skilled workers in the shipbuilding industry.
Perez and Collins spoke to the press earlier today at the Portland International Jetport before visiting training programs at Bath Iron Works and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.
Collins says that, at both facilities, the employees are growing older and heading into retirement, "and the work that is done is technical and highly skilled."
The visit will highlight programs that serve as the foundation for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the first major reform of federal job training programs in 15 years.
The law passed last year with strong bipartisan support in Congress, in part because of the emphasis on work-based training opportunities, such as apprenticeships.