Buoyed by success | Four years after a $14 million WIRED grant targets Maine boatbuilding, the results are in
Photo/Robert M. Cook
Susan Swanton, executive director of the Maine Marine Trades Association, sees continuing impact from the state's North Star Alliance
Reflecting on the success of the North Star Alliance Initiative — a four-year collaboration to invigorate Maine’s boatbuilding and composites industries — Susan Swanton expects stakeholders will keep the momentum going, despite the end of the federal grant that initiated the effort.
The $14.4 million federal Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED, grant from the U.S. Department of Labor ended in January, and Swanton, executive director of the Maine Marine Trades Association in Portland, has just finished contributing to a report detailing its impact.
The alliance was created by Gov. John Baldacci in 2006 after a cluster was identified to assist coastal communities in 12 of Maine’s 16 counties affected by the impending closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station. State leaders focused on the region’s boatbuilding industry and directed the alliance to shore it up with increased work force training, business development and research and development to set the stage for future growth. The alliance included representatives from the state Department of Labor, Department of Economic and Community Development, the University of Maine, the Maine Built Boats nonprofit and the Maine Composites Alliance.
Four years later, a report analyzing the alliance‘s performance said the boatbuilding industry cluster has created 533 new jobs and provided training for 1,879 Maine residents through programs offered via the Maine Community College System, The Landing School in Kennebunkport, Husson University’s Boat School in Eastport and two new facilities, The Maine Advanced Technology Center in Brunswick and the Marine Systems Training Center in Thomaston. Swanton says the alliance also helped pump $72.5 million in Maine Technology Institute funds, Community Development Block Grants, federal monies and private investment into the boatbuilding industry, plus another $1.05 million in Maine Technology Institute awards for research and development projects.
In this interview with Mainebiz, Swanton shares her perspective on the alliance’s work and her vision of how it will continue to support Maine’s boatbuilding industry.
What was the alliance’s greatest success?
The training piece. The ability to train workers, the ability to train educators ... the Maine Advanced Technology Center in Brunswick was helped with some North Star funding. The Marine Systems Training Center in Thomaston, which we now operate, was created with North Star funding. That’s huge. We have two centers focused on this cluster and that is really, really important. We also created a peer awareness campaign that kind of lives on. We’ve got a website that is geared toward kids, teachers and their parents to get them more familiar with what this industry has to offer.
What was your most formidable challenge with the alliance?
Dealing with what seemed to be the ever-changing landscape at the federal level I think was universally challenging. All of us felt it. I don’t think any of us anticipated it (laughs). Another challenge whenever you’re pulling public/private entities together is just not having the ability to jump in and do something as if you were making a decision for yourself or your own business.
What surprised you?
The amount of effort that the administration of the grant would take. It was such a huge award I don’t think the federal government had ever given grants in those amounts for this kind of work before. They had to make demands on the recipients and it was a lot of work.
How did the alliance help members of the Maine Marine Trades Association?
Probably the biggest thing was the opportunity to access training. It was huge. A lot of the training that our folks really need to stay competitive in the marketplace has not been available before in Maine. Through the grant, we were able to bring a lot of that training here, which brings the cost way down for these companies to be able to get their folks trained. So that’s been a huge benefit and it’s actually become part of the legacy of the grant. In addition, a lot of folks took advantage of some of the business counseling services offered by some of our partners.
The alliance established multiple training programs. What’s enrollment been like?
Enrollment is up at both The Landing School and The Boat School in Eastport. I have been happy to see younger people, Maine kids, pursuing careers in the industry or least taking the step to get their training here.
We have companies that have taken advantage of many different kinds of training that we have offered at the (Thomaston) center. Between the time we had our first class in 2008 and the time we finished the grant, we have put about 300 people through training at the center, which is pretty impressive, because we focus on incumbent workers who are not available to go to school every day.
How does this boatbuilding cluster dovetail with the state's goal to establish an economy powered by renewable, green energy?
I think in Maine what we're going to see is -- not tomorrow, not next year, but a little bit down the road -- a lot of offshore wind farms being built here. I think that is a natural connection for our industry. We're already located at the water's edge so we can build boats, we can service boats and provide that service at the water's edge that an offshore entity might need to have. For the land-based wind, we already have builders who are familiar with the materials and the processes that would be in demand for constructing component parts. We also see there are some overlaps in skills that service technicians would need, as well as a disposition that if you're going to work at the top of a wind tower -- whether it's on the top of a mountain or offshore somewhere -- you have to be OK with working outside, working with height and all the while being able to do the technical pieces of the job.
You have indicated that you would like to see the work of the alliance continue beyond the life of the federal grant. Is that happening and, if so, in what way?
The three trade associations that were a key component in the whole thing have certainly pulled together and stayed together. We will work on things as collaboratively as we can. I have no doubt that at some point the three organizations will go after grant money to work on another project together.
Does the government need to provide more funding for boatbuilding training and R&D to advance the industry?
There is always going to be a need — and that doesn’t mean the workers and the businesses don’t have a need to have a financial stake in all of that — but it certainly helps if a company wants to invest in its workers by providing them with high-quality training that leads those people to higher-paying jobs. If the government can readily put money out there that can help pay for tuition, everybody wins. The R&D piece, absolutely. We’re really fortunate in Maine to have the AEWC (Advanced Structures and Composites Center) here in Maine. R&D testing and prototyping can be done here without having to go out of the state or out of the country, and that keeps our costs down. That’s really important because it keeps us competitive.
What lessons can the state and the boatbuilding industry learn from the North Star Alliance?
A big one is it’s really important (to see) how much you can accomplish when you work collaboratively with the private sector and the public sector partners. When you have a fairly discrete set of goals and you have something you can work on together and you can see that there’s benefit, not just for individuals or a company, a whole segment of the population can benefit.
I think the other thing is how important it is to have healthy associations working inside of an industry. We’re a great conduit to the businesses. By working with the associations, the cluster and with the businesses, if they (state officials) kind of put industry in the driver’s seat, they wind up with something good in the end. Everything lines up to what that sector needs and you wind up with a sector that can take care of itself.
What will it take to realize the alliance’s vision for Maine’s boatbuilding industry?
For the rest of the economy to turn around (laughs). It is fairly unfortunate that the global economy chose to tank when it did because I really felt like we were right on the verge of some amazing things starting to happen and then slam, the door closed shut. I think that we’re going to see more of the long-term, lasting benefit of what we were able to do with the grant. I think more people will take advantage of the training. More people will see the benefit of doing the boat shows and taking advantage of R&D opportunities and really not being so timid about calling attention to the good work that they do.
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