Support For Md. Workforce Training Program Unites Business And Workers

You might not expect a CEO and a person without a job to agree on legislation, but there are exceptions. Marylanders Mark Rice and Paul Behler live in very different circumstances — Rice is the owner of a Baltimore City manufacturing plant and Behler is one of the city’s unemployed. But both support a new state program signed into law Tuesday, HB227, that will fund the training of Maryland’s workforce.

Behler has been struggling to find work since 2011, when he lost his job as a piano technician after 30 years in the music business. Until a few days ago, Behler was homeless, and he spent over 18 months without housing.

His hope is that the EARN program will allow him to get a technical certification in plumbing or construction, which he sees as his ticket out of poverty.
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