I urge you to complete the MITEC labor-needs assessment survey as soon as possible.

On November 15, the National Skills Coalition will meet with White House and Congressional leaders to discuss The Sectors Act of 2010, which focuses on building new workforce pipelines where skilled worker shortages exist, transforming the ways the labor pool is utilized, retrained, and compensated.

Your input is invaluable in demonstrating the workforce-development needs of the marine industry. This survey will provide me, your representative in the National Skills Coalition, with answers to many of the questions I will be asked at this important meeting, such as:

• Does your industry have current job openings?
• What challenges, if any, do you face in filling these positions?
• Are there impending shortages of skilled workers in your industry, particularly as we start to come out of the recession?

Bottom line? The Sectors Act requires the Secretary of Labor to provide assistance to eligible entities — such as MITEC — in applying for and administering the grants, and disseminating information on best practices in industry or sector partnerships through conferences, websites, and annual reviews.

Translation: Money to stimulate growth of new jobs in the marine industry is available.

Let’s make sure the marine industry is on the receiving end of this program: You can help ensure that the marine industry is represented with enough solid data to educate the Administration about our labor and training needs. Fill out the survey now. It will take you only a few minutes.

To date, we have 150 responses, but we need at least 500 to build our case. Please complete the survey today, and pass the link (http://www.boatingcareerinfo.org/archives/695) or this letter on to other employers in the marine industry.

Thank you!

Pam Lendzion
Vice-Chair MITEC (Marine Industry Training & Education Council)
Vice-President ABBRA (American Boat Builders & Repairers Association)