by Fergus Cullen (fergus@ferguscullen.com)

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is taking credit for securing a job training grant based on the “success” of a prior grant that cost taxpayers $16,207.90 per job placement.

The “On-the-Job” training program is run through the federal Department of Labor and administered by the state Department of Resources and Economic Development. An initial grant of $972,474 is credited with helping 60 individuals find jobs, or more than $16,000 per job placement. The new grant is for an additional $675,314, which DRED commissioner George Bald expects will assist 50 more job seekers.

“New Hampshire was awarded the supplemental grant based on the success it has achieved in implementing the first award,” according to a Shaheen press release, which calls the program “highly underutilized.”