Exclusive Interview with Sean Scanlon, CT State Comptroller
The interview with Comptroller Sean Scanlon began with questions surrounding the States acknowledgement that there was a need for a greater labor force. Many are finding it difficult to find qualified, dependable people to fill their understaffed businesses. “The labor market has changed since Covid…and specifically when it concerns manufacturing, you have an aging workforce…..and there is a big hole because not a lot of people are going into manufacturing and the training programs we relied on were not nearly where they needed to be”, Scanlon said.
Scanlon discussed a current program to help Electric Boat (EB) who must hire 5,000 people. After EB hires a new employee, they are sent to an 8-10 week community college program and returned to EB to begin their manufacturing careers. There is more education after that to complete their instruction, but essentially, they are ready to work. “That’s how the state is doing it for one large manufacturer. Now they basically have to take that model and spread it across the whole state. The task is to streamline the educational needs to the needs of the jobs at han,” He said.
Responding to the comment that Europe has many programs to train non-college bound students to internship training in many fields including, plumbing, building contractors, electricians, retail workers, and the like, he talked about Dr. Kelly Valerez, the head of the Office of Workforce Strategy for the State of CT, who is working on this. According to Scanlon, there are about 11,000 students who graduate high school yearly who don’t go on to college. Part of Dr. Kelly’s job is to find these people and talk with them about the programs available to them.
The other part of that is to talk with students still in high school who don’t see the benefit of calculus, AP English, AP History classes, and direct them to coursework that will conform to their particular job interests. The biggest impediment to that approach, Scanlon explains, is that Kelly’s challenge is in convincing the parents that it’s okay not to be on that college track.
It is interesting to note that good plumbers, electricians and other trades people can earn as much as some doctors, lawyers, professors and the like.
When asked, Scanlon said he would love to meet with the Superintendent of Schools here in the Goshen, Litchfield, Morris and Warren district to discuss such programs. After confirming an interest in these programs by Mr. Leone, Superintendent of this district, it was agreed to pursue further discussions.
The next subject was that of lowering drug costs to CT residents. There are middle managers serving the insurance companies in dealing with drug costs.
