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20 Hartford Business Journal • April 10, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com OPINION & COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Desperate times call for vast gov't restructuring T rue government restructuring is never easy to propose, let alone implement and accomplish, even during times of crisis. Dealing with impassioned interest groups, particularly those backed by pow- erful unions, often leads to intense political fights that can scare away reform-minded leaders from making necessary changes. That's why we are applauding Mark Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State Col- leges and Universities (CSCU) system, for his efforts to tackle the financial constraints of our state's higher-education system. Last week Ojakian proposed a bold, sweeping consolidation plan for the state's CSCU system that would save $41 million annually by centralizing leadership and administrative services of the state's 12 community colleges. The plan would consolidate administrative functions like IT, human resources, and purchasing and contracts, while also unifying community colleges into a centrally man- aged organization, leaving open all 12 main community college campuses, at least for now. Ojakian says the changes are necessary as the college system, which also includes the four regional state universities and the online Charter Oak college, continues to lose student population and state financial support, both of which make up the majority of its funding sources. Since 2015, state appropriations for the $1.2 billion CSCU system have fallen 12.4 percent, and there is a projected $35 million deficit for fiscal 2018. Meantime, the student population is also shrinking as our high schools graduate fewer pupils. Hiring freezes and cost cutting have been used as temporary stop-gap measures in recent years, but won't be able to keep pace with the system's structural deficits. Ojakian's proposal has already been approved by the Board of Regents for Higher Education and doesn't require legislative approval. We expect many objections to be raised, as any threats to layoff administrators will be met with intense opposition. At least one critic — liberal advocate Jonathan Pelto, who's been a Malloy administra- tion nemesis — wrote in a blog post that Ojakian's plan "would undermine Connecticut's community college system and remove important independent functions of Connecticut's state universities." He also lamented that a centralized system would impede locally driven education programs that have been crucial to developing students employers need. We too would like to see more details of the plan before we give it a rubber stamp of approval. It is true that our community colleges each have their own unique missions, many of which have been shaped in conjunction with the private sector. In recent years, for example, many of our of community colleges have adopted advanced manufacturing programs to help fill a worker shortage hindering one of our state's most important industries. We need to ensure that a centralized administrative system is able to quickly and efficiently respond to the needs of students and the business community. In his rollout, Ojakian described the consolidation plan as "Students First," because cuts are expected to spare student services and teaching faculty. That's good news, but again the devil will be in the details. Of course, another issue Ojakian himself pointed out is that the college system has few expense areas to trim given that 80 percent of total spending is dedicated to personnel costs and 95 percent of full-time staff is represented by bargaining units. The power of unions to impede necessary change in state government, particularly cost cut- ting and restructuring of the state's vast bureaucracy, has always been a problem. We respect workers' rights, but Connecticut's fiscal crisis requires drastic measures to right our ship. Ojakian is taking the necessary steps in higher education. We'd like to see similar ambitious restructuring in other parts of state government as well. n HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL Does CT need a law to guarantee equal pay for women? ● Yes ● No To vote, go online to HartfordBusiness.com. Last week's poll results: Has the CTfastrak busway been a smart investment for CT? 23.1% Yes 76.9% No OTHER VOICES Manufacturing's future starts in grade school By Elliot Ginsberg T oday unprecedented growth is projected for the aerospace and defense sector across our nation and our state. In Con- necticut, companies like Pratt & Whitney, Electric Boat and Sikorsky have announced long-term contracts for military engines, commercial engines, submarines and heli- copters that will spur technology advances and generate thou- sands of jobs not only within the original equipment manufac- turers, but through- out the aerospace and defense supply chain. This new look of manufacturing — with the world's leading products being produced by a highly educated workforce in clean, modern workplaces — paints a positive pic- ture of what is here now and what is to come. A major challenge, however, persists — how to attract a next generation of talent needed to support the indus- try's expansion. It may seem surprising but interest in manu- facturing no longer begins in college or even high school, but instead at the grade- school level. At the Con- necticut Center for Advanced Technol- ogy Inc. (CCAT), we are witnessing this first-hand. There is a strong enthusiasm for learning about manufacturing at the younger grade lev- els. Thousands of boys and girls have experi- enced manufacturing through the Connecticut Dream It. Do It. program (CT DIDI), which is led by CCAT and supported by the state Depart- ment of Economic and Community Develop- ment, corporate, and foundation resources. During Connecticut Dream It. Do It. manu- facturing month every October, more than 500 students participate in two signature events: Manufacturing Mania and the Making It Real: Girls & Manufacturing Summit. Together with our Young Manufacturers Academy sessions held during the summer, we are making manu- facturing real for young students and getting them excited about working in this industry. While we have motivated many students at a young age to seek careers in manufac- turing through these hands-on, interactive events and workshops, we know the poten- tial is there to reach significantly more early learners. And that is just what we are doing. In February, CT DIDI began a pilot program at the Martin Luther King and Simpson Waverly schools in Hartford to bring direct, instruction- al day programming to fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. We anticipate expand- ing the program to additional middle schools in Hartford and across the state. This CT DIDI program offers a series of workshops and a full-day "deep dive" for each grade level that includes hands-on activities and interactive workshops, competitions and sim- ulation-based learning, with a focus on STEM and workplace skills like critical thinking, com- munication, problem solving and collaboration. To give students a real-life manufacturing experience, CCAT is working with Pratt & Whitney and Goodwin College. Students will work in small groups on specific project-based activities, guided by CCAT and Goodwin staff. Pratt & Whitney employees who have volun- teered to participate in the CT DIDI Ambassa- dors program will be involved too, giving the young students a chance to get to know people currently working in manufacturing. Pratt & Whitney is taking the lead in the state as the first manufacturer to support our Connecticut. Dream It. Do It. Ambassador effort. Under the program, employees interact with students starting at the primary school level and become ambassadors to them, dem- onstrating the rewards of a manufacturing career path. The goal is to inspire the next gen- eration of talent and give employees a chance to make a difference in their communities. The proof that it works is there. We've watched young man- ufacturing employ- ees interact with 11, 12 and 13 years olds during our events and workshops. When these young students hear about the limitless oppor - tunities and reward- ing careers available to them in the manu- facturing world, it's a powerful message and it's being deliv- ered in the right way. We are confident in this new outreach program because it comes at a time when manufacturing once again is taking center stage in the discussion of our economic future. There are 12 million manufacturing jobs in our country and more than 150,000 in Connecticut right now, with the potential to expand by thousands over the coming decades. And just as the excite- ment about this growth is escalating, so is the competition to attract and retain the top talent available. This is why partnerships at all levels of education — primary school through college — are as valuable as they are essential. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, American manufacturing ingenuity spurred our country's development and positioned us as an economic world power. That same pas- sion continues to inspire us today. Our state's and nation's manufacturing success depends not only on advanced tech- nologies but on a talented and skilled work- force that will power innovation and secure our role as a global manufacturing leader for years to come. By starting to encourage young people at the middle school age, we give ourselves a much-needed head start. n Elliot Ginsberg is the president and CEO of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Tech- nology Inc. Elliot Ginsberg ▶ ▶ There are 12 million manufacturing jobs in our country and more than 150,000 in Connecticut right now, with the potential to expand by thousands over the coming decades.