Employers urged to team up with schools to tackle workforce shortage
Courtesy / Maine State Chamber of Commerce
From left, Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, with Lisa Martin of the Manufacturers Association of Maine, Ed Cervone of Educate Maine and Julka Arsovski of Paradigm Windows. They are shown at Tuesday's press conference unveiling a report calling for more collaboration between employers and educators to tackle Maine's workforce shortage.
Educate Maine and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday called for more partnerships between employers and educational institutions to address Maine’s workforce shortage and skills gap.
The two organizations lay out their case in a 12-page policy brief entitled “Employers and Educators: Partnering to Create Opportunities for their Workers and Students," unveiled at an event at Paradigm Windows in Portland.
“Educator-employer partnerships are resulting in real successes that are helping solve Maine’s workforce challenges,” Ed Cervone, executive director of Educate Maine, said in a news release.
He added that “in every case we studied, there are two things in common. One is leadership, and the other is partnerships involving multiple organizations working together. The journey is different in every case, but the vision is the same, and collaboration is key to the successes we are seeing.”
Cervone will soon hand over the reins as executive director of Educate Maine to Jason Judd, who will start his new role on July 2, Educate Maine said in a separate announcement Tuesday.
Judd joined Educate Maine as the Project>Login director in 2016, growing it into a nationally recognized program. He has more than 12 years of experience as an educator at Maine Central Institute, beginning as a counselor and classroom teacher and leaving as the dean of academics.
Cervone told Mainebiz that he will become executive director for the Center for Innovation in Education and vice president for external partnerships at Thomas College in Waterville.
He said his top advice for Judd is to "keep doing what he is doing" in his new role at Educate Maine, adding: "He is ready for this job and will take Educate Maine to great places."
'New paradigm' for education in Maine
At Tuesday's event in Portland, Lisa Martin, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of Maine, highlighted her organization's Manufacturing Career Connection program.
It works with educators to attract young Mainers into manufacturing and connects diverse job applicants with manufacturing companies across Maine.
And Julka Arsovski of Paradigm Windows, a member of the Manufacturers Association of Maine, spoke about how Manufacturing Career Connection is helping Paradigm find qualified job applicants.
The report published Tuesday calls for a “new paradigm” of education in Maine, designed to give students exposure to the kinds of jobs available in the economy as well as guidance about how to prepare for those jobs.
That includes equipping them with math, language, computer and other skills as well as mentoring and work experience in sectors of interest.
While noting that change won’t happen in the short term, the publication showcases several case studies.
Success stories highlighted in the report include the Cianbro Institute for training in construction trades and a new associate’s hospitality degree created for seasonal workers by the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport and York County Community College.
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