I’m very proud of the work MTC is doing in Egypt. Over 20,000 technical school students have been placed thanks to MTC’s support. Read more about this by clicking below!
Improving Thousands of Lives in Egypt Through Workforce Development Training
Looking back on MTC’s 2018
From Idaho to Egypt, the excellent staff at MTC made a big impact in 2018. From training students at Job Corps centers, to providing quality health care, MTC was focused on making a positive difference. Read more by clicking below.
Female Students Advancing in Male-Dominated Industry at Sierra Nevada Job Corps
I’m excited to see the work being done at MTC’s Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center in Reno. Trades such as construction, painting, and carpentry are being taught and many women are taking advantage. Read the story by clicking below!
Female Students at Sierra Nevada Job Corps Advancing in Male-Dominated Industry
Washington Examiner Op-Ed Praises MTC’s Commitment to Rehabilitation
An Op-Ed by Michael Santos ran in the Washington Examiner yesterday. In the Op-Ed, Michael describes how many correctional facilities do not give the incarcerated a path to improve themselves and to be successful after release. However, MTC was a contrast:
For instance, earlier this year, I toured correctional facilities in Texas run by a company called Management & Training Corporation. The opportunities and programming afforded to people incarcerated there were highly impressive. It gave me hope that other facilities, privately and publicly run, might follow their lead. The re-entry program there teaches personal development and business principles and links local business leaders to inmates as mentors and advisers. These are exactly the kinds of programs that can help empower inmates to change their own lives and prevent recidivism.
Update on MTC’s Work in Egypt
MTC Vice Chair Jane Marquardt provided an update on MTC’s successful USAID project in Egypt:
MTC is excited to announce that our Economic & Social Development division’s project in Egypt has been extended for another year. We’ve been working in Egypt under a [United States Agency for International Development] USAID project since the fall of 2015. It’s called WISE, or Workforce Improvement and Skills Enhancement. So, we currently have about 70 employees located in Egypt, our main office is in Cairo, and we are working in 11 different places throughout the country.
MTC’s Egypt Project Extended until October 2019
MTC’s workforce improvement project in Egypt has been extended until October 2019.
It’s been a highly successful project,” adds MTC Vice Chair Jane Marquardt. “In fact, earlier this year, a third party evaluated the WISE project and MTC’s efforts to enhance workforce programs within Egypt, and the evaluation results were outstanding. We have very talented and capable staff who are making a real difference in the lives of so many people.”
The Workforce Improvement and Skill Enhancement (WISE) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), began in 2015 and due to strong performance has been extended through October 2019.
The Inspiring Treatment of Women at Lockhart Facility
MTC has operated the Lockhart Correctional Facility since 2015. Since then, MTC has worked to add, enhance, and enlarge many programs at Lockhart.
Recently, two visitors to the facility were impressed by what they saw during their tours:
It was such a great pleasure to tour your facility in November…I continue to be amazed at the positive atmosphere at the Lockhart Unit. Amazed really doesn’t say it all! Rosie the Riveter and the “We can do It!” motto is the perfect symbol for your unit…
“If a Person Can Work, All Other Things Will Follow” – Reflections on 50 Years of the Clearfield Job Corps Center
Last month, Jane Marquardt, Vice Chair of MTC, spoke at the 50th anniversary of the Clearfield Job Corps Center in Northern Utah. In her remarks to the audience, she reflected on her father’s commitment to education and the importance of the services Job Corps provides.
In the fall of 1966, the Job Corps program was first being conceived by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Sergeant Shriver as a tool in the “War on Poverty.” Modeled after the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the goal of the Job Corps was and is to this day to provide vocational and academic training to young people ages 16-24.
Jane’s father, Robert Marquardt, saw this as a great opportunity to enhance the lives of the working class and those seeking opportunity in Northern Utah. Convincing his employer, Thiokol Chemical Corporation, to go into this new education business was not an easy task, but given his dedication and excitement for the project, Thiokol agreed. Initial resistance from the local community nearly derailed the project, but Robert and his colleagues persisted. He himself coming from a family of educators, Robert understood the power a quality education can mean for a person’s future; not only for themselves, but for their family and their community. “If a person can work, all other things will follow!” was Robert’s mantra. Applying his management principles to the programming – strict accountability, outcome performance measurements, and allowing every student to proceed at their own rate – the Clearfield Job Corps Center became one of the most successful Job Corps Centers in the nation under Robert’s leadership.
In 1981, Robert Marquardt and his colleagues founded Management & Training Corp (MTC), and bought the rights to operate the four Job Corps Centers managed by Thiokol Chemical. Mortgaging everything, putting his livelihood on the line, Robert risked his and his family’s future because he believed so strongly in the mission of the Job Corps. One month after putting it all on the line, President Reagan announced his intention to terminate the Job Corps program. In shock and anger, knowing what was at stake for himself, his family, and for the people served by the Job Corps, he and his partners flew to Washington, D.C. to testify in front of Congress the benefits of the program and the impact it had on the lives of its participants. Through their efforts, Congress determined the Job Corps too valuable to terminate, defying the President and saving the program. 35 years later, 50 since its launch, Job Corps is continuing to make real impacts on people’s lives.
Robert Marquardt’s legacy lives on through Job Corps, as do some of his lessons:
• Believe in yourself; You are the one who has the most power to create your future. Most limits are established not by others, but by the limits you place on your own mind.
• Be alive in every moment.
• Dwell fully in your passion.
• Surround yourself with people you love and help you grow.
Today, there are over 100 Job Corps centers across the U.S. in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. MTC is the largest private operator of these centers, operating 17 and providing management services to four more. On any given day, more than 9,000 students are trained and educated at MTC managed or operated Job Corps centers.
Jane Marquardt Speaks at Job Corps Graduation
Job Corps is an education and training program, free of charge, offered to young people looking to earn their GED or high school diploma, or looking to learn skills necessary to be successful in the workplace. Management & Training Corporation (MTC) has long had a partnership with Job Corps in helping these young people succeed in the program and in the years after they leave. For over 30 years, MTC has operated 18 Job Corps centers, and partnered to assist in operating others. In the last year, more than 4,000 students have earned their high school diploma, GED, or an equivalency; more than 7,600 students have been placed in quality jobs, gone on to higher education, or joined the military. Additionally, students and staff at Job Corps centers nation-wide contributed over 75,000 hours of community service and raised nearly $25,000 for local charities.
Recently, Jane Marquardt, Vice Chair at MTC, had the honor of delivering the keynote address to the graduating class at the Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was a day filled with hope, a sense of accomplishment, and happy tears. Jane’s message focused on telling the students to be the best they can be and know that their struggles are the key to their future success. She went on to add each one of the graduates has a unique story with their own struggles, and that they all have gifts to offer the world. More can be found in the video below:
Economic & Social Development Division Officially Launches Egypt Project
Last fall, MTC was awarded a $22 million contract to support the growth and development of the Egyptian workforce. Earlier this month, MTC was excited to launch the Workforce Improvement and Skills Enhancement (WISE) program in Cairo Egypt.
By working directly with Egypt’s Ministry of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, MTC is implementing USAID’s WISE project to build a skilled workforce. The project seeks to upgrade Egypt’s technical and vocational education and training systems, further develop connections between employers and training centers, and create structures for economic development. The goal is by creating a more educated and skilled workforce, the nation will increase its productivity and reduce poverty.
The event was held in Cairo and involved more than 180 participants, including dignitaries from the Egyptian government, USAID, WISE project staff, and MTC. Several Egyptian leaders thanked the U.S. for its commitment to the strategic partnership and emphasized that improved education is an important element of national security.
Greg Niblett, MTC’s Vice President, Chief of Party Jeffrey Tines, and Deputy Chief of Party Mohamed Fawzy addressed the conference. They laid out the specific ways in which MTC will assist in upgrading technical education to a competency-based system to meet the needs of the job market, benefit the students, and support the private sector. Jane Marquardt, MTC’s Vice Chair, Diane Crosby and Jane Gindin also attended the event.