Maryland has received $4 million from the federal government to prepare residents for thousands of jobs expected to open with the military?s Base Realignment and Closure.
The money will go toward education and training of potential employees for about 10,000 jobs being transferred from other bases to Aberdeen Proving Ground and 35,000 more jobs moving to Fort George G. Meade, Andrews Air Force Base and Bethesda Naval Hospital.
Analysts expect as many as two-thirds of the workers whose jobs are being transferred from places such as Fort Monmouth, N.J., to Aberdeen will retire rather than move.
BRAC will open the positions to new recruits or Maryland?s existing workers ? if they are educated enough for the high-tech civilian jobs or skilled enough for the service jobs, said Andy Moser, assistant secretary for work force development at the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Permits.
“[BRAC] calls for a really wide-ranging approach, to help every individual who wants to work to get the skills they need to attain a job,” Moser said.
Such efforts could include strengthening science, technology, engineering and math classes in state schools to train “the next generation of workers,” while boosting programs to provide continuing education for existing workers, Moser said.
“There?s all kinds of tasks and strategies we could do,” England said.
He said he?s heartened by the fact that the money will go toward training and recruiting local employees for the new jobs, especially given the looming deadline of 2011 for the military?s moves to be completed.
“All the money we?ve had in the past has been for planning, not implementation, and we?re getting closer and closer to the influx of jobs,” England said.
