Ecton Lawrence "Ji" Billiot Jr.
July 7, 2008
Jaime Pineda
July 11, 2008
Gov. Bobby Jindal was at Fletcher Technical Community College in Houma Thursday to promote technical education in the state, ceremonially signing into law a bill revamping the state Department of Labor during a press conference at the school.
The governor promoted an initiative of the technical college system called the “day one guarantee.”
Schools are promising that they will retrain for free any worker not sufficiently prepared to begin their jobs.
Jindal also made an assurance that Fletcher will be receiving $23 million in state funding for campus improvements, including $3.8 million for the technical college’s marine welding program.
The governor said he wants more students taking technical education classes.
“I love it when kids go to four-year colleges, when high school students take AP (Advanced Placement) classes, but not every student is going to college,” he said, advocating more training in technical jobs for students. “We’re not doing enough to fund technical jobs. … We’ve brought a new commitment to technical colleges.”
The state has thousands of good-paying jobs going begging while college graduates leave the state, Jindal said, a point he has made several times when in Houma before and since becoming governor.
“We need our people to come back,” he said. “Our sons and daughters are leaving the state because of more pay. We need to encourage them to stay.”
Jindal said he expects that most new jobs will be created by the expansion of existing businesses instead of new businesses coming into the state.
Joe May, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, repeated Jindal’s call for a larger number of students in technical colleges and underscored the importance of the state’s day one guarantee.
Jim Owens, an official in the state Department of Education, called for the elimination of gaps in race and class in education.
He said 131,000 high school students take technical classes. The courses are more expensive, but the students make more money when they leave school.
Gov. Bobby Jindal addresses the crowd at Fletcher Technical Community College in Houma Thursday. Jindal was in town to promote technical education statewide. * Photo by MIKE BROSSETTE
