Action Strategies
4. Establish the College for ME Employer Initiative to help employers support the education of their workforce.
The Goal: Ensure that 10,000 additional Maine workers earn degrees from Maine colleges and universities over the next decade with assistance from their employers.
The Challenge: Maine's lagging educational attainment is a huge competitive disadvantage for the state's public and private employers. Fortunately, there are a lot of things employers can do in collaboration with government and educators to help their more than 700,000 employees earn college degrees and to expand the supply of skilled, college-educated workers in Maine.
One of the most effective forms of support an employer can offer is so-called "tuition reimbursement"--reimbursing employees for what they pay to take college courses, usually on a part-time basis while they work. Employer-provided tuition "reimbursement" is especially effective when it is provided before a course starts. That's when employees need it to pay their tuition bills. To ensure accountability, employers may stipulate that if an employee does not maintain a certain grade level, the reimbursement must be returned to the employer.
Two-thirds of adults who take college courses for credit receive financial support from their employer, according to the Center for Business and Economic Research. Yet only one in four Maine employers surveyed in 1999 reported that they provided tuition reimbursement benefits.
And cost is not the only barrier to continuing education for workers. For example, nearly two-thirds of the low-wage workers surveyed in 2003 by the respected Boston-based nonprofit organization called Jobs for the Future reported that their work schedules created a barrier to further education.
In response, some employers provide time off or space during the workday or on weekends for courses to be delivered in person or through distance learning. Some provide employees with career counseling through their human resources departments. Others reward employees who earn degrees with bonuses or promotions.
Everyone benefits when employers commit to their employees' further education. Employers get a more skilled and productive workforce. Maine's working people increase their skills--and that means they increase their lifetime earnings. The State of Maine strengthens its competitive position in the Knowledge Economy. And colleges and universities boost their enrollments and enrich their campuses with dedicated adult learners.
The Strategy: The Compact will establish a College for ME Employer Initiative to provide Maine's public and private employers with technical assistance, training and statewide recognition for forward-looking workforce education policies. The Compact will also advocate a simple state tax credit that reimburses employers for 50% of what they pay to help employees pursue college degree programs.
The College for ME Employer Initiative will provide Maine employers with information, training and technical assistance delivered regionally and on site.
This technical assistance could include help conducting audits of existing practices, setting five-year goals, increasing employee participation in tuition assistance programs and connecting increased educational attainment to workplace advancement. Loaned executives will be used extensively to assist employers.
Many Maine employers already provide successful models for holistic strategies to encourage workforce education. One particularly progressive program reimburses the costs of tuition, fees and books for employees enrolled in any degree-granting program in any field. The program offers paid time off for studying, up to three hours per week. And perhaps most importantly, upon graduation, employees receive $10,000 in company stock for a bachelor's degree and $5,000 for an associate degree.
The College for ME Employer Initiative will allow these types of best practices to be benchmarked and successful approaches showcased and replicated.
The long-term intent of the College for ME Employer Initiative is to support all Maine workers and employers. In the first five years, however, the initiative will focus on Maine's larger companies and organizations, and on trade associations, which, in turn, may develop education programs for the smaller businesses in their memberships.
The Partners: The College for ME Employer Initiative will be a partnership among participating Maine employers, educational institutions and state government. Maine employers will adopt policies and take actions to encourage workers to earn degrees. These actions include payment of tuition, mentoring support and flextime to take courses. Colleges and universities will facilitate delivery of courses on site and at times that are convenient to working people. They will also forge special agreements with employers or groups of employers to facilitate learning. State government will provide the tax credit.
Related Strategies: Employers may also work closely with schools and colleges to develop mentoring and internship opportunities for students. These arrangements have been shown to keep young people interested in school and to help them develop career goals, while providing employers with fresh perspectives and new ideas.
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