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    "title": "Energy Research and Development Administration - Training Program",
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        "logicalDate": "1976-09-01",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 2, folder \"Energy Research and Development\nAdministration - Training Program\" of the Bradley H. Patterson Files at the\nGerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\n5\nUNITED TRIBES EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL CENTER\n3315 SOUTH AIRPORT ROAD\nBISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA 58501\nPHONE 701-255-3285\n00000\nSeptember 7, 1976\nDr. James Kellett\nOffice of University Programs\nE. R. D. A.\n400 1st Street N. W.\nWashington, D. C. 20545\nDear Dr. Kellett:\nIn keeping with your telephone instructions to my staff member,\nMr. Douglas J. Myers, I am enclosing a preliminary proposal from the United\nTribes Educational Technical Center (UTETC) to your office. The proposal\nseeks funds to initiate and operate a comprehensive training program in\nsix craft areas with the ultimate aim of placing unemployed Indian people\ninto plant operating jobs in the energy industry in North Dakota and Montana.\nThis preliminary proposal is fairly complete. I believe it speaks for\nitself. I would like to call your attention to some particular points,\nhowever. First, the energy industry in this area will be taking an\nidiosyncratic approach to recruiting plant personnel; they will be recruited\nfrom the labor force involved in constructing the plants. UTETC's proposed\ntraining program reflects this fact; it is a two-step process. Rather than\ntrain individuals directly for plant employment, the Center will provide\ntraining in six skilled craft areas, and job placement into those construc-\ntion companies involved in building the energy plants. As the proposal re-\nveals, other ongoing UTETC activities will ensure transfer into plant\noperating jobs as these become available.\nSecond, UTETC is uniquely qualified to work with Indian people. It\nis the only Indian owned and operated vocational center in the country; its\nprogram is comprehensive and tailored to the needs and past experience of\nthe reservation Indian population.\nThird, there are a great many unemployed Indians and--as earlier UTETC\nresearch indicates--there is high interest among them in obtaining energy\nconnected employment.\nFourth, major energy manpower shortages are expected in North Dakota\nand Montana as a result of years of outmigration and the scale of energy\ndevelopment envisioned: Training of an Indian labor force can help\nalleviate this manpower shortage.\nFORD is LIBRARY GERALD\nDigitized from Box 2 of the Bradley H. Patterson Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nSeptember 7, 1976\nDr. James Kellett\nPage Two\nI would appreciate receiving your reactions to this preliminary\nproposal as soon as possible and also receive formal proposal guide-\nlines as soon as these are available. Energy development is moving\nrapidly in this area. The Indian people wish the opportunity to play a\nrole in this development.\nSincerely,\nTheren M.Meas\nWarren W. Means, Executive Director\nUnited Tribes Educational Technical Center\nL 10avel\nDouglas P. Muus\nMike Ward\nDouglas J. Myers, Director\nDean of Education, UTETC\nIndian Lignite Manpower Program\nUTETC\nFORD LIBRARY &\nTraining Indian People For Energy Employment\n(Preliminary Proposal)\nSubmitted by:\nThe United Tribes Educational Technical Center\nTo\nThe Office of University and Training Programs of the\nEnergy Research and Development Administration\n(08) LIBRARY CTY\nTraining Indian People for Energy Employment\nThis preliminary proposal is submitted by the United Tribes Educa-\ntional Technical Center (UTETC) to the Office of University and Train-\ning Programs of the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA).\nThe proposal's immediate purpose is the initiation of a broader and more\nintensive crafts training program at UTETC. Its long range purposes\nare two-fold. To begin with, it aims at moving unemployed Indian people\ninto, first, construction employment in the developing energy industry\nin North Dakota and Montana; eventually, into operational employment in\nthermal generation and coal gasification plants in the two states.\nThe proposal's second long range purpose is to help alleviate the-\nmanpower shortages anticipated in connection with the developing energy\nindustry in North Dakota and Montana. Major shortages are expected;\nand the only substantial pool of unemployed manpower available in the\ntwo states is on the Indian reservations. The training project proposed\nhere, coupled with UTETC's ongoing job placement program, will make it\npossible to provide considerable well-trained Indian manpower to the\nenergy industry.\nThe pages which follow sketch out the objectives, procedures,\nbenefits, and costs of the proposed training program. But first some\nbackground.\nBackground\nThe United Tribes Educational Technical Center is a unique educa-\ntional institution. Owned and operated by the five reservations of North\nDakota, it is the only Indian controlled residential vocational school\nin the United States.\n-1-\nAlthough the student body of UTETC is drawn from twenty-four\nreservations in eight states, students who come to this institution\nshare at least one point in common: they are all members of the so-called\n\"hard-core reservation unemployed\". The vocational training program\npresently offered at UTETC is geared specifically towards this popu-\nlation, offering a variety of services not available at other vocational\ninstitutions. These services range from alcoholism counseling to classes\nin personal and social development; and are designed to assist the stu-\ndents in making a gradual transition to life off the reservation; a\ntransition many of the graduates will have to make since employment\nopportunities are limited on the reservations.\nWith the emergence of the energy crisis in the Fall of 1974 and\nthe consequent upsurge of interest in utilizing the massive coal\ndeposits in North Dakota and Montana, UTETC began exploring its notential\nrole in training Indian people for employment in the energy industry.\nMany jobs are anticipated; the next twenty years should see the development\nof eighteen to twenty gasification plants--each providing direct plant\nemployment to over 1,000 people--and even more thermal generation in-\nstallations.\nUTETC's approach to providing energy employment opportunities to\nIndian people was divided into two phases: research and planning;\nimplementation. In the first phase UTETC staff worked with the North\nDakota State University Center for Economic Development to develop\nthe Indian Lignite Manpower Project, a proposal for which was funded by\nthe Economic Development Administration in 1975.\nThe Manpower Project had three objectives. Its first objective,\nwhich has been attained, was to carry out a survey of the adult Indian\n-2-\npopulation on the reservations in North Dakota and eastern Montana.\nPersonal interviews were conducted with approximately 800 randomly\nselected Indian adults on these reservations concerning:\n(1) willingness to accept jobs in the energy industry--even if\nthese required relocating 150-200 miles away from the reservations;\n(2) extent of previous experience and/or training in relevant\noccupations;\n(3) willingness to join a labor union if required;\n(4) willingness to undergo additional training for employment\nThe results of the survey were very encouraging. 70 percent were\ninterested in working in the developing energy industry; over two-\nthirds of this 70 percent were prepared to relocate 1 if necessary;\nall of them were willing to undergo additional training.\nThe second and third objectives of the manpower project are still\nunderway. To look first at the second objective, its overriding purpose\nis to gain the full committment of energy company and labor union officials\nto securing Indians employment in all phases--including construction--\nof the developing energy industry. To this end, continuing meetings\nare being held with both groups in order to assure, (1) that qualified\nIndian people will have no difficulties in obtaining union membership,\nand, (2) that an employee recruiting structure will be developed\nFORM ? FORD LIBRARY\ncapable of providing continuing information to Indian people regarding\n1. The relocation required would differ from what Indians have experienced\nin the past. Rather than going from North Dakota to, say, Chicago,\nrelocatees would be living from 100-200 miles from their home reservations\nand thus would be able to return to the reservations as often as\nweekly.\n-3-\nenergy employment opportunities. In effect, the second objective calls\nfor developing an informal, permanent advisory committee made up of\ncorporate and union officials committed to placing Indian people in\nenergy employment as this opens up over the coming years.\nThe third objective of the manpower project is to determine the\nkind and number of jobs opening up in the energy industry over the next\ntwo to twenty-five years. Included here were not only operational\njobs, elg., in a gasification plant, but also the many job opportunities\nbecoming available in the construction phase of energy development.\nTo attain this objective, and this work is still underway, UTETC officials\nhave been working closely with the director of a special project in the\noffice of the North Dakota State Board for Vocational Education. This\nproject, which is funded by the Old West Regional Commission, has\nsurveyed the energy industry to determine what their occupational needs\nwill be in both the construction and operational phases of energy\ndevelopment; and to ascertain the recruitment path to eventual operational\nemployment in the energy industry. The State Board project is completed\nand a final report is expected within two or three weeks. The information\ncontained in the report, however, has already been made available to\nUTETC since the director of the project, Mr. Ted Renner, is a member\nof the Advisory Board of UTETC's Manpower Project. This information has\nbeen utilized in developing this training proposal. The information\nprovides a picture of the manpower needs of the energy industry in\nboth its construction and operational phases in the two states; more\nimportant, however, it provides information on energy company plans\n-4-\nfor recruiting their plant operating force. It is these plans for\nrecruiting plant personnel which have dictated the special nature of\nthe training program proposed here. Put simply, the energy companies\nwill obtain their plant operating personnel directly from the plant\nconstruction force. That is, those individuals employed in plant\nconstruction will become part of an overall labor pool from which will\nbe selected operating personnel. For this reason, rather than attempting\nto train Indian people for plant employment, UTETC will train people\nfor entrance into the skilled trades and crafts involved in constructing\nenergy plants; they will move into operational jobs later.\nIn short, what UTETC is proposing here might be characterized as\na two-step program. Funds are being sought from ERDA to train and place\nIndian people into energy plant construction. These same people will\nthen be given the opportunity to move into permanent operational jobs\nin these energy installations once they begin operating.\nPresent Proposal\nAs is apparent above, UTETC is now in a position to initiate a\ntraining and employment placement program. The EDA funded Manpower\nProject has established that there are large numbers of unemployed Indian\npeople interested in obtaining employment in the energy industry.\nBoth the energy companies and the unions have been cooperative and\nsupportive of the project's purpose. And, finally, information recieved\nfrom the State Board's occupational needs project has provided a picture\nof the types of skills needed as well as information on the pathway\nto permanent jobs as operating personnel in the energy plants. To\nreiterate, the latter is a two-step process. First, construction employment;\n-5-\neventually, operational employment.\nAnd this two-step process, as stated earlier, dictates the special\nnature of the present proposal. UTETC is seeking funds to initiate\nintensive training in six crafts areas:\n1. Boilermakers (specialized welders)\n2. Electricians\n3. Iron Workers\n4. Welders (general)\n5. Pipe Fitters\n6. Carpenters\nThese six areas are the major craft areas required for plant construction.\nUTETC wishes to provide intensive apprenticeship training in all of these.\nIt already provides some training in the areas of welding, carpentry\nand electrical work; this will be upgraded and intensified. New\nintensive training tracks will be developed to produce apprentice\nboilermakers, iron workers and pipe fitters.\nFollowing the completion of training, UTETC's existing job placement\noffice will obtain construction employment for the program graduates.\nPlacement arrangements, of course, will be coordinated through the\nspecial advisory committee of labor union and corporate officials.\nFinally, in the years to come, UTETC's placement office and the\nadvisory committee will be responsible for ensuring that these construction\nemployees are given an opportunity to move into plant operating jobs\nupon the completion of construction. (No difficulties are anticipated\nhere; a great part of the construction force are career construction\n-6-\nworkers who will move to construction work in other areas. Thus,\nthere should not be high competition for plant operating jobs since\na great part of the construction labor pool from which they will be\nselected will not be interested in these jobs.)\nFORD\n-7-\nTraining Program Objectives\nThe objectives of the training program proposed here are implicit\nin what has been said earlier. To begin with, the overriding or general\nobjectives are to place unemployed Indian people in Montana and the\nDakotas into employment in the developing energy industry; and, in\nthis way, to help alleviate the manpower shortages developing in Montana\nand North Dakota in connection with the energy industry. The first\nof these two general objectives is of primary importance. Its attainment\nwill mark perhaps the first time significant numbers of Indian people\nhave been trained for and placed into well-paying, skilled labor employment.\nIndian employment opportunities in the past, both on and off the reservations,\nhave consisted of various types of unskilled, minimum wage openings and,\nas a result, they have had little impact on economic conditions among\nIndian people.\nThe specific objectives of the present training program are as\nfollows:\n1. To provide Indian people 1 year of intensive vocational training\nin one or another of the six craft areas detailed earlier.\n2. To provide this intensive vocational training to at least 70\npeople per year; presumably 11 or 12 people would be trained per year\nin each of the six craft areas.\n3. To provide these 70 people with UTETC's normal training program\nin personal and social development; this is essential if these individuals\nare to function successfully in a non-Indian environment following\ngraduation since many have never lived elsewhere than on the reservation.\n-8-\nIncluded in the personal and social development curriculum is everything\nfrom budgeting to how to defrost a refrigerator to why parents should\njoin the Parent Teachers Association.\n4. To assure that those trainees lacking high school diplomas\nobtain a Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED) prior to graduation from\nthe crafts training program.\n5. To place graduates from the program into construction employment\nin their area of skill following graduation. Involved here, of course,\nis, in all instances, locating a job in plant construction for the\nindividual; in some instances, arranging for union membership.\n6. To continue this program as long as it is justified by the energy\nindustry's manpower needs; present projections indicate a minimum of\n10 years.\n-9-\nTraining Program Design\nSince its inception in 1969, UTETC has offered a wide spectrum of\nvocational training programs, ranging from business/clerical to human\nservices to welding. Moreover, UTETC has been successful; indeed, it\nis the first training center ever to have any significant impact on\nhard core unemployed reservation people. The primary reason behind this\nsuccess is the comprehensive nature of UTETC's approach. Training is\nnot limited to vocational skills alone. Heavy emphasis is also placed\non personal and social development, and on the individual trainee\nattaining at least the academic and literacy skills represented by the\nGED.\nAll of this experience will, of course, be applied to designing\nthe programs proposed here. UTETC has a training program design section\nheaded by the Dean of Education and the Program Manager of vocational\nprograms (a former card carrying iron worker himself). Both of these\nindividuals are well qualified in training program design. Moreover,\nthey are able to call upon other resources both in and out of North Dakota\nfor assistance. Included among these outside resources are the departments\nof vocational education at both North Dakota State University and the\nUniversity of North Dakota as well as the North Dakota State School of\nScience, a large state institution of vocational training.\nFor all of the above reasons, no difficulty is anticipated in\ndeveloping solid training curricula for the six craft areas. UTETC\nis capable and experienced. But for the present programs the Center\nwill go beyond its past efforts. A unique approach will be taken to\ndesigning the six new programs. Help is being solicited from the craft\nunions in question. In effect, these unions are being asked to assist\n-10-\nin developing an optimal one year course of intensive vocational training\nin their specific fields, e.g., electrician.\nTwo reasons underlie this request. First, UTETC staff recognize\nthat practitioners in a given area, e.g., electrician, are fully conversant\nwith the current, and changing requirements of their craft. Second,\nUTETC is working toward having its proposed year of training count\ntowards union apprenticeship requirements- rarely does vocational training\nfrom any institution accomplish this goal--and how better to do this than\nbring the unions into the process of designing the new programs?\nFORD\n-11-\nAnticipated Benefits\nThe benefits accruing from the proposed training program have already\nbeen discussed to an extent in the Background section of this preliminary\nproposal. To sum them up, first a sizeable labor force will be provided\nto meet the manpower shortages arising in connection with the developing\nenergy industry of North Dakota and Montana. These shortages will\nbe severe; the proposed program will allow them to be met, at least\nin part, by a local labor force.\nSecond, an appreciable number of unemployed Indian people will be\ngiven--perhaps for the first time--the opportunity to acquire both\nlegitimate employment skills and decent employment. Judging from\nprojected wage scales both the construction and operational jobs will\npay $1,000 or more per month; gains in human dignity and self respect\ndo not easily lend themselves to quantification but they too will be\npresent.\n-12-\nFunds Required\nPreliminary cost figures indicate that approximately $385,000 will\nbe required to initiate the new training programs. Of this $385,000,\napproximately $225,000 will be one time start-up costs.\nThe page which follows breaks this $385,000 request into the\nfollowing line items. First, a total of $128,240 is requested for\nPersonnel--including fringe benefits. These funds will be used to employ\na program director, four instructors, a recruiter and a secretary.\nOnly four rather than six instructors are required since UTETC is already\nproviding basic training in three of the six skilled crafts; a recruiter\nis necessary in order to assure that the trainees are carefully screened\nand selected in terms of UTETC's established criteria for successful\ntraining, e.g., past social history.\nSecond, $150,000 is requested for Facilities Enlargement and\nRemodeling. The present vocational facilities are simply not large\nenough to accommodate the proposed new training programs, e.g., boilermaking;\nor the enlarged enrollments and equipment additions anticipated in\nongoing programs, e.g., welding. Both increased space and the remodeling\nof existing space will be required.\nThird, a total of $72,000 is requested for New Equipment. Included\nhere is $18,000 in equipment costs for each of the three totally new\nFORD\nprograms and $6,000 for upgrading each of the three existing programs.\nFourth, $18,000, or $3,000 per program, is requested for Work\nSupplies, e.g., welding rods, for each of the six programs.\nFifth, general support costs total slightly under $15,000. Primary\n-13-\namong these is travel and per diem at $8,000--almost all of this travel being\nin connection with student recruitment. However, added administration\ncosts will total approximately $5,000; these costs include handling all\napplications, transcripts and pay records for the incoming trainees.\nFinally, let two points be noted. First, this budget is, as the\ntitle indicates, a preliminary estimate--although the final figures\nare not expected to differ greatly.\nSecond, in the formal proposal, all budget line items, e.g.,\nequipment, will be broken down into their specific components, e.g.,\nparticular pieces of equipment, and justifications provided.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n-14-\nEstimated Budget\nPersonnel:\nDirector\n$ 20,000.00\n4 Instructors\n72,000.00\n(@ $18,000)\nRecruiter\n16,000.00\nSecretary\n6,500.00\nFringe Benefits\n13,740.00\n(@ 12%)\nTotal Personnel\n$128,240.00\nFacilities Enlargement and Remodeling\n$150,000.00\nNew Equipment\n$ 72,000.00\nWork Supplies\n$ 18,000.00\nGeneral Supplies\n$ 2,000.00\nCommunications\n$ 1,500.00\nTravel and Per Diem\n$ 8,000.00\nAdministration\n$ 5,000.00\n(Records, etc...)\nTOTAL\n$384,740.00\n-15-\nNeed fur Funds\nAs should be apparent in the preceding pages, UTETC is keenly\ninterested in developing a comprehensive training program capable of\nplacing Indian people into, first, energy plant construction jobs and,\nsecond, plant operating jobs. It was this interest which led to the\ndevelopment of the original EDA funded Manpower Project; the successful\noutcome of that project has only heightened UTETC interest in developing\na comprehensive energy employment training program.\nBut to develop this comprehensive training program, UTETC will require\noutside help. The Center's budget is strained to the limit. This\nbudget is only $1,500,000 and with it UTETC is operating the ten vocational\nprograms in place presently, the personal and social development division,\na GED program, complete support services, e.g., housing and a cafeteria,\njob placement and follow-up. There is no possibility of mounting these\nnew training programs within the present $1,500,000 budget.\nIt is for this reason that UTETC is requesting help from ERDA.\nThe Training Center is able to provide a great part of the necessary support\nresources for the craft training programs outlined here, e.g., instruction\nin personal and social development. But it must have help to implement\nthe purely vocational part of the proposed new training programs.\nAdditional training space is needed, equipment is needed, and personnel\nare needed. Part of these costs, of course--as mentioned earlier--\nare non-recurring. Following the first year, UTETC will be able to operate\nall six of the new programs for about $160,000 annually, or just under\n$2,300 in ERDA money per graduate.\n-16-\nUNITED TRIBES EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL CENTER\n3315 SOUTH AIRPORT ROAD\nBISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA 58501 PHONE 701-255-3285\nUNITED TRIBES EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL CENTER\nRESOLUTION NO. 76-80-UT\nWHEREAS, United Tribes Educational Technical Center is a North Dakota\nnon-profit Corporation whose Board of Directors is composed\nof representatives of each of the five North Dakota\nreservations, and\nWHEREAS, the primary function of UTETC is the operation of a voca-\ntional training school for Indians with the long-range goal\nof preparing Indians for obtaining and retaining meaningful\nemployment, and\nWHEREAS, the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA)\nis accepting pre-proposals for grants for the purpose of\ntraining persons to work in energy industry related jobs;\nNOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board of Directors goes on\nrecord as authorizing the Corporation to submit a pre-\nproposal to the Energy Research and Development Administra-\ntion for a grant which will enable UTETC to train individuals\nfor the lignite industry.\nCERTIFICATION\nI, the undersigned President of the United Tribes Educa-\ntional Technical Center Board of Directors do hereby certify that\nthe said Corporation is composed of ten (10) members of whom 10\nwere present at a duly called and a lawful meeting for which a quorum\nwas convened and present to hereby adopt the foregoing resolution\non this\n8 day of September\n, 1976.\nSEAL\nCarl\nPresident, UTETC Board of Directors"
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