One- to two-year programs have been available for decades. The system is expanding short-term programs, taking weeks or months to complete, to move skilled workers into entry-level roles faster.
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Opportunities for short-term health care training are expanding thanks to a new partnership between Maine’s health care industry, community college system and education and workforce organizations.
The goal is to fill chronic frontline staffing shortages in health care settings across the state.
“Maine’s health care system is strained,” said Dan Belyea, Maine Community College System’s chief workforce development officer.
‘Stretched thin’
“Rural hospitals are closing units, our population is aging faster than almost any other state and the workforce caring for our most vulnerable Mainers is stretched thin,” said Belyea, who leads the system’s Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce.
Alfond coordinates short-term workforce training programs for the community colleges. A series of sector-based partnerships are part of Alfond’s five-year plan to train 100,000 Mainers by 2030. The first partnerships were in construction and manufacturing.
With 50 members, the health care industry workforce partnership has steering committees and action teams that co-create short-term, skills-focused training aligned to hiring needs.
“Sector-based partnerships like these are key to solving Maine’s workforce challenges,” said Liz Love, Alfond’s director of sector partnerships. “Together we’re designing industry-led training solutions that provide relevant skills, fill in-demand roles and offer pathways to meaningful careers.”
More short programs
Maine’s community colleges have been training health care workers for decades, offering two-year associate degrees and one-year certificate programs in dozens of fields, from nursing and emergency medical services to surgical technicians, radiology technicians and other licensed clinicians.
In recent years, the system vastly expanded short-term programs that take only a matter of weeks or months to complete, and can move a newly skilled worker into an entry-level health care role faster.
Among the new short-term training programs available in 2026-27 under this partnership are enhanced medical assisting; language and work readiness pathways; pre-apprenticeships; and more advanced emergency medical technician opportunities.
Short-term programs are typically offered at no cost to students, with some including stipends, and are designed for people entering the workforce, people changing their careers and incumbent workers looking to add new skills and advance in their field.
Popular field of study
Health care is the system’s most popular academic program area, with the trades a close second. Last fall, 3,563 students were enrolled in degree and certificate health care programs, a 78% increase since 2019. Over the same time frame, MCCS expanded short-term offerings, and more than 8,000 students have taken short-term health care training programs since 2021.
The partnership includes health care systems, hospitals, health care associations; Maine’s seven community colleges and statewide education and workforce partners.
Participation has “enabled MaineHealth to help influence the development of critical training programs,” said Melissa McManus, director of workforce development at MaineHealth.
The Maine Community College System has the lowest tuition and fees in New England and serves more than 33,000 people per year.
The Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce coordinates all short-term workforce training programs for Maine’s community colleges, working with business leaders and workforce specialists. The Alfond Center’s goal is to serve more than 100,000 Mainers by 2030 through pre-hire training, incumbent worker training and scholarships for those pursuing certificate and degree programs.
