A major goal of the ETAG is to assist people with low to moderate incomes and other target groups to become economically self-sufficient by providing access to education, training, and employment opportunities in the private sector. 

Another is to link and coordinate CEI's job-generating business loan and investment portfolio with state and federally funded employment, training & education programs that serve people with low incomes in need of training and skill development.

And finally, it is to assist job-generating Maine businesses to assess their training needs, develop plans for development of their workforce for both new and incumbent workers, and to mobilize and access training resources to support workforce development needs.

From the inception of the ETAG model in 1983 to 2005, over 260 ETAG agreements have yielded 6,707 jobs for individuals with low incomes.  Of those,  1,300 welfare recipients and  350 people with disabilities gained employment in companies with an ETAG agreement in place.