The good news is that Maine is meeting its productivity and wage growth goals. But the labor force participation rate has fallen to 59.3%, hurting businesses’ ability to grow and the state’s ability to thrive.
Fortunately, many organizations are addressing Maine’s labor shortage by attracting and training workers for high-demand jobs. Educate Maine is proud to partner with the Maine Chamber of Commerce, Maine Development Foundation, University of Maine System, Maine Community College System, and Maine Department of Finance to create and implement programs that advance Maine’s educational attainment goals. I’m proud. By the end of 2025, 60% of adults will have a valuable qualification. Currently, that percentage is just over her 55% and she is making steady progress, but there is still work to be done.
At the heart of Educate Maine’s work is the professional development of educators, which is essential to all major education and training programs. Educate Maine provides introductory training and career experiences in specific high-growth fields, such as IT and coding, aquaculture and life sciences. We promote and connect young workers and businesses through the creation of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships in traditional trades and new fields such as robotics. We recently launched a new mobile bioscience lab with federal funding. The lab visits local secondary schools weekly to demonstrate to students the wide range of study areas and careers they can pursue.
Now is the time to effectively enhance your employee training and career exploration programs. Maine’s economic future depends on it.
kate howell
Director of Workforce Partnerships, Educate Maine
Kennebunkport
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