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Ohio Voters Favor Job Training Program to Boost Economy
CINCINNATI-- When it comes to boosting the economy, Ohio voters across the political spectrum favor job training programs over other plans, according to a newly released survey."Most voters realize that getting Ohio back to work should be a top priority and see job training as key to that effort because it gets people the rights skills for the right jobs," said Jason Walsh of the Workforce Alliance.The survey, conducted on behalf of the Workforce Alliance by Bennett, Petts, and Blumenthal, shows that voters in the election year battleground state overwhelmingly support job training programs and see them as a compelling strategy to move the economy forward. The survey found that Ohio voters view jobs and the economy as the most important issue when deciding which presidential candidate they would support. The survey found that nearly 90% of Ohio voters favor job training programs. When asked about the best alternative to improve the economy, more than three fourths of voters voiced strong support for providing education and training to people who have lost their jobs or who need to move out of low wage jobs.According to the survey, voters prefer a presidential candidate who supports helping workers get the education and training they need for good paying jobs. Campaign messages emphasizing job training were more compelling to voters than those emphasizing tax cuts, health care, or environmental protection. Only homeland security, an issue frequently in the news, was seen as a more important issue to voters. "This survey proves that Ohio voters see investments in workforce training -- to make the state's workers more skilled and their employers more competitive -- as an important strategy for getting the economy back on track in a sustainable way," said pollster David Petts. "The report also demonstrates that our national political leaders -- particularly those who want to become president -- would be wise to include a new national commitment to workforce development in their economic proposals." Among the key findings of the survey:The public is strongly supportive of job training.An impressive 88% favor job training programs (41% strongly favor) while 10% do not favor them.Support for job training exists among Democrats, Independents and Republicans. Among Democrats 89% support job training. Among Independents the number is 90%, and among Republicans 84% support job training programs.Job training is viewed as a way to improve the economy, in fact more so than either accelerating the tax cuts or delaying them. Of respondents, 78% view "providing education and job training to people who have lost their jobs" as a good idea for improving the economy. By comparison, just 44% believe "speeding up the tax cuts that were passed last year" is a good idea for improving the economy. Just 39% view "delaying the tax cuts that were passed last year in order to help reduce the budget deficit" as a good idea for improving the economy.The economy continues to be the dominant issue for voters.When asked to choose the one issue most important when deciding which presidential candidate to support, 34% cited jobs and the economy, followed by homeland security at 20% and the war in Iraq at 14%.In the survey, 68% said they would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports helping workers get the education and training they need to obtain good-paying jobs. This was the second highest scoring message tested, surpassed only by one emphasizing homeland security (74%). By comparison, 65% said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports universal health care, 60% for a candidate who supports speeding up the tax cuts passed two years ago, and 53% for a candidate who says more must be done to protect the environment. Interviews were conducted April 13-15, 2004. The sampling error is plus or minus 4.4%.Visit the Workforce Alliance at www.workforcealliance.org "