It goes without question that the Maine Learning Technology Initiative will create many new opportunities for learning in our schools. But there’s another positive aspect of providing our students with personal computer equipment and Internet access that may not be instantly obvious – the impact this innovative program will have on the future of our businesses and economy.

The Maine Learning Technology Initiative will furnish approximately 36,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students and teachers in all of Maine’s 241 middle schools with an Apple iBook laptop computer for their use in the classroom. Not only does the state’s contract with Apple Computers provide for the laptops, but also for the networks, servers, technical support, maintenance and teacher training.

This initiative is clearly an investment in our future. What may not be as immediately realized and appreciated are the benefits that a technology-savvy workforce will bring to every business in our state.

Since 1992, Maine’s employment in information technology has grown by 109.5 percent, while national employment growth was only 87.4 percent. In the field of biotechnology, our state registered an employment increase of nearly 45 percent, well above the national rate of 12.1 percent. Overall, employment growth in Maine’s targeted technology industries is growing faster than the national average. This trend is likely to continue on an ever-increasing scale in the coming years. In order for our state to survive as a whole in this new economy, not only do our businesses need to innovate and incorporate technology, but so does our work force.

This philosophy is supported by research and findings that the economic competitiveness of our state is directly correlated to the skills and education level of our work force. It’s also proven that companies that have to provide on-the-job training for employees without basic computer skills are adding significant costs to what it takes to run their business (“Maine Marks,” February 2001).

The disadvantages of having an under-skilled work force with rising training costs for Maine businesses will significantly impair our state in competing in a knowledge-based economy centered on information technology.

The Maine Learning Technology Initiative is a pioneer program that will help us address the challenge of an evolving economy by ensuring that tomorrow’s workers will be the most valuable assets of any business. This is a program that will enhance economic development in our state on all levels. A well-educated, prepared workforce can fill high-level jobs, which means more businesses will succeed, which will encourage more companies to consider Maine as a business location, which will create even more jobs. It’s an economic development process that continually builds momentum, but it can’t get moving without those skilled workers.

The workplace is an environment that’s changing right before our eyes, and the people who are entering the work force must have the necessary skills to compete for good-paying jobs. When more and more people in any community have jobs that pay better wages, it has a palpably positive effect on the economy. Higher-wage jobs contribute to economic growth, which can result in lower taxes for both Maine citizens and businesses.

Our students have proved themselves worthy and capable of utilizing the technology that today’s industries have marvelously generated. From 1998 to 2000, Maine’s high school completion rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was 94.5 percent, the highest rate of any state in the nation. Our eighth-graders consistently score better than the rest of the country on reading and math assessment tests, and Maine’s colleges and universities are producing science and engineering graduates at a higher rate than the United States as a whole. Clearly, Maine’s students have incredible potential to benefit immeasurably from personal computer technology.

The most ambitious program of its kind in the world, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative makes us the first state in the nation to deploy personal access to learning technology to this group of students and teachers. This makes a bold statement to the rest of the country that Maine has made a commitment to educating today’s students with the tools of tomorrow – that Maine can and will compete in the new economy.

Steven H. Levesque is commissioner of the Maine State Department of Economic and Community Development and can be reached at 624-9805.