October 21, 2021
Funding would double childcare space; expand training for loggers, electricians, and wind turbine technicians; support new aquaculture programs; and fund a new mobile welding lab
AUGUSTA, ME – The latest list of Maine projects included in the Senate appropriations bill includes more than $8.5 million for important programs at Maine’s community colleges, including aquaculture, logging, wind power and welding.
“Each one of these projects would result in more Mainers getting the training they need for good jobs affordably, close to home and in industries that are critical to a healthy Maine economy,” Daigler said. “Aquaculture, welding, logging and wind power technology are all key industries in Maine’s future economy, and we hear all the time that these businesses are desperately seeking skilled workers. Expanding childcare facilities is also desperately needed to improve access to education and training, and support our students with families.”
“I want to thank Senator Susan Collins and Senator Angus King for once again championing the people of Maine by supporting and promoting these projects,” Daigler said.
The projects are:
- Eastern Maine Community College: $4 million, to expand and renovate the Katahdin Higher Education Center to increase access to childcare and additional job training resources.
- Northern Maine Community College: $1 million, to purchase equipment and develop curriculum for the college’s Mechanized Logging Operations program. Students learn hands-on while operating highly technical, industry-standard equipment with field instructors.
- Northern Maine Community College: $988,000, to expand technical and safety training for wind turbine technicians by hiring additional faculty and acquiring equipment. In collaboration with Maine Maritime Academy, the college proposes to become an international training provider in the wind power industry.
- Northern Maine Community College: $567,000, to expand the college’s electrical construction and maintenance program.
- Southern Maine Community College: $995,447, to purchase a mobile welding instruction lab that allows the college to offer in-person welding instruction to students across the state, instead of requiring all welding students to get training at fixed campus facilities.
- Washington County Community College and Southern Maine Community College: $977,000, to establish an aquaculture program that includes seafood processing, logistics, transportation, marketing, and sales.
October 5, 2021
A $60 million investment will provide training to more than 24,000 Maine workers
SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – A $15.5 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation (HAF) to The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges (FMCC) will enable Maine’s seven community colleges to vastly expand and strengthen short-term training and education for incumbent workers, those seeking to enter the workforce, and those seeking to earn a credential of value. The Maine Community College System (MCCS) will combine these funds with $35 million in funds through Governor Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan enabling Maine’s community colleges to provide low- or no-cost workforce training to more than 24,000 frontline Maine workers over the next four years.
The historic $60 million initiative will be housed in a new virtual “Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce,” said David Daigler, president of the MCCS. The new funding is supplemented by another $10 million in matching funds provided by the private sector, other grants, and existing workforce training funding.
“The Harold Alfond Foundation is very pleased to support this initiative that significantly expands the breadth and reach of workforce training in Maine,” said Greg Powell, chairman of the board of trustees for HAF. The gift to FMCC was announced on Tuesday at a press conference at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.
“Maine’s community colleges have demonstrated over the years that they can quickly provide workforce training that is highly responsive to employers’ needs and gives Maine workers the skills they need to enter and progress in today’s workforce. This is a life-changing opportunity for Maine workers at a transformative moment in time for our state.”
The $35 million in funds through Governor Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan was approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor on July 19. It will be available for use on October 18. New workforce training covered under this initiative has already launched this fall.
“Maine has grappled with a serious workforce shortage for decades — one that has for far too long stifled our ability to grow our economy, create and maintain small businesses, and provide good-paying jobs across the state,” said Governor Janet Mills. “My Administration is committed to tackling this problem head-on, which is why I dedicated more than $100 million in workforce development funding, including $35 million directly to Maine’s community colleges, through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan. When combined with the $15.5 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation, this represents an historic and unprecedented investment to address Maine’s workforce shortage. These funds will go directly to equipping Maine workers with skills to succeed in good-paying jobs, which will help them thrive, help businesses grow, and strengthen our economy — a win-win as we recover from the pandemic and build a better economy for Maine and our people. I am grateful to the Harold Alfond Foundation for its generosity and the Maine Community College System for its ongoing work to improve our economy.”
In addition to expanding the number of low- or no-cost workforce training offerings across the state, MCCS is using the rare confluence of public and private investments to overhaul its workforce training portfolio. MCCS is working with Maine businesses and adding new supports and resources for workers who want to earn a college degree or other credential of value. In recent months, more than 80 businesses and associates have signed a compact with MCCS, pledging to help this new effort that supports Maine workers at every stage of their work life.
“It’s not enough to provide training for just their first job, or even mid-career training,” Daigler said Tuesday. “With these funds, and the new compact with Maine businesses, Maine’s community colleges can provide a streamlined, affordable path so workers get personalized training and support from their first job and continuing all the way to earning a college degree or other credential of value. That level of coordinated effort between the business, the college, and the learner creates an unprecedented sea change in workforce development and career mobility for workers.
“This once-in-a-lifetime financial investment allows Maine’s community colleges to leapfrog individual steps broadening the scope of our workforce training that might have taken years to accomplish otherwise,” Daigler said.
The approach pulls together various workforce training initiatives, creating a single logical and accessible system that cuts through red tape and maximizes efficiency. The Center will also be a resource to the state’s businesses, providing low- or no-cost training options for Maine’s small- to medium-sized employers who may lack the resources to sustain in-house training departments.
“The Harold Alfond Foundation has been our long-time partner in helping Maine build a skilled workforce. This grant will allow us to provide workers seeking employment with the technical skills they need to qualify for good-paying jobs, which in turn will provide businesses with the talent they need to compete and prosper in the new economy,” said John McKernan, former Maine governor and chairman of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges.
The Harold Alfond Foundation, a longtime supporter of Maine’s community colleges, previously awarded a three-year $3.6 million workforce training grant to The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges in 2018. That grant fueled the first major expansion of workforce training at MCCS.
The plan for the Center was developed with feedback from workforce training and economic development authorities. Labor economist John Dorrer described the concept as “bold and timely.”
“It is most appropriate that the concept should be advanced by the single most important set of institutions that are able to offer programs and curricula that will equip the largest segment of Maine’s workforce with the skills and performance competencies needed for a dynamic economy,” wrote Dorrer, the former director of the Maine Center for Workforce Research and Information.
Bill Cassidy, the chairman of the MCCS Board of Trustees applauded the collaborative nature of the Center.
“There is such high demand right now for comprehensive training and support for lifelong learning. We are so grateful to have the support of partners in both the public and private sectors in putting together a visionary, collaborative effort that will benefit a generation of Maine workers,” Cassidy said.
July 20, 2021
AUGUSTA, ME – Maine Community College System (MCCS) President David Daigler issued the following statement after Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1733, legislation to implement the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, which includes $35 million for workforce training for Maine’s community colleges.
“This is great news for Maine, and we are eager to get to work,” said MCCS President David Daigler.
“Workforce development is critical to the state’s economic health and ability to rebound from the impact of the pandemic. The $35 million in this budget package earmarked for the Maine Community College System gives us critical one-time funding to focus quickly and effectively on providing training for Maine businesses and support Maine people transitioning to the post-pandemic, skill-based economy.”
“We are ready to put the funding to work immediately. The colleges have been laying the groundwork, signing short-term, workforce training agreements with more than 80 companies and business associations. That compact spells out how Maine’s community colleges and Maine businesses are working together to offer Maine workers expanded workforce training opportunities and tuition incentives at the state’s seven community colleges.”
The business partners, representing almost 100,000 workers, signed the Maine Workforce Development Compact with Maine Quality Centers (MQC,) the workforce training arm of the Maine Community College System.
Under the Compact, MQC will provide employees of Compact members with scholarships and discounted tuition towards college courses offered by a Maine community college, and provide workforce training. Businesses will support employees who enroll in college courses to work toward a college degree, appoint a workplace liaison for the program, coordinate trainee support and advise MQC on future workforce training program needs.
July 9, 2021
AUGUSTA, ME – Maine’s community colleges are more affordable than ever this year, with no increase in tuition and fees and a significant increase in Maine State Grant aid available for qualifying students.
The Maine Community College System (MCCS) has long had the lowest tuition and fees of any college in New England. Tuition for the 2021-22 academic year remains at $96 a credit hour for Maine residents, so the standard 3-credit hour course is $288. A full-time student taking 15 credits each semester would pay annual tuition of $2,880.
Thanks to a $10 million increase in funding from the legislature this session, the Maine State Grant award has increased from $1,500 to $2,500 for full-time students and from $750 to $1,250 for half- or three-quarter time students. The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME,) which administers the Maine State Grant, has also extended the deadline for people to apply for the grant for the 2021-22 academic year.
“There’s never been a better time to pursue an education at one of Maine’s community colleges,” said MCCS President David Daigler. “Coming off a very hard year, when a lot of students put off going to college, this is exactly the kind of financial support and incentive needed to encourage students to pursue a college education.”
“We are very grateful that the Board of Trustees decided to not increase tuition and fees this year,” Daigler added.
In addition to keeping tuition and fees flat, the community colleges have new and expanded student support programs that include tutoring, tech support, tech equipment loans, counseling and job search assistance.
“Once you’re enrolled, there are many resources to help you succeed, but we know many students won’t apply because they think they can’t afford it,” Daigler said. “Maine’s community colleges are very affordable. A student working a minimum wage job just 25 hours a week over the summer can earn enough in those 10 weeks to cover their tuition and fees for the entire year.”
In fact, most MCCS students pay far less than full tuition and fees, without incurring any student loan debt. About 75 percent of full-time students at Maine’s community college receive some form of grant aid, and 50 percent of students get enough grant aid that they pay nothing for tuition and fees.
In addition to the Maine State Grant, many students qualify for a federal Pell Grant, which can not only completely cover the cost of tuition and fees, there is often enough grant aid left over to pay for books and other expenses. The average Pell Grant award for undergraduate students at a two-year college is more than $4,000.
Residents of other nearby New England states may be eligible for reduced out-of-state tuition, which is 150 percent of in-state tuition. Full-time, out-of-state students who do not qualify for the regional discount would pay approximately $5,760 per year, at $192 per credit hour.
July 8, 2021
AUGUSTA, ME – More than 75 Maine businesses and industry associations have signed agreements with the Maine Community College System (MCCS) that provide their employees with expanded workforce training opportunities and discounted tuition at the state’s seven community colleges.
“Working with businesses throughout the state, we have realized our ability to meet their needs increases exponentially when we build deep, lasting relationships. So we developed this Compact and businesses didn’t waste any time signing up,” said MCCS President David Daigler. “We are all focused on investing in Maine workers, filling job vacancies for skilled workers, and building a strong economy, particularly as we recover from the impacts of the pandemic.”
The business partners, representing almost 100,000 workers, have signed the Maine Workforce Development Compact with Maine Quality Centers (MQC,) the workforce training arm of the Maine Community College System.
Under the Compact:
- MQC will provide employees of Compact members with entry-level and professional development training;
- MQC will provide employees of Compact members with scholarships and discounted tuition towards college courses offered by a Maine community college;
- MQC and Compact members will collaborate on helping the unemployed and underemployed find employment, including providing training for jobs going unfilled for lack of skilled workers;
- Businesses will support employees who enroll in college courses to work toward a college degree; and
- Businesses will collaborate with MQC by appointing a workplace liaison for the program, coordinating trainee support and advising MQC on future workforce training program needs.
“Maine’s community colleges are our workforce training partner, and this Compact demonstrates our joint commitment to helping workers get the skills they need for good-paying jobs in Maine,” said Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. “This Compact helps business owners recruit and retain workers, stabilizes worker turnover, and gives businesses a streamlined arrangement with local community colleges to provide professional development to our teams. It will absolutely make a difference.”
Compact members include MaineHealth, L.L.Bean, Hannaford, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Maine Medical Association and HospitalityMaine. Smaller companies are also taking advantage of the Compact benefits. More than a dozen Compact members have fewer than 50 employees, including Union River Lobster Pot, Mariner Beverages and Allenfarm Fence Company.
“We are very excited to partner with Maine companies, industry associations and chambers of commerce that are literally signing on the dotted line to help their workers and members get fast, free, tailored training — and a shot at a low-cost college degree,” Daigler said.
June 29, 2021
The Maine Community College System will train hundreds of rural students in remote work skills as the pandemic continues to shift the American job landscape.
The Maine Community College System will launch a free training program to prepare over 700 rural students for remote jobs over the next three years.
Students living in rural areas of the state will be able to take six- to nine-month-long online courses in fields especially conducive to remote work, such as IT support, customer service and medical transcription. Participants will receive training and earn a certificate in remote work skills. The program will also offer a certificate course for supervisors on how to manage remote workers.
Administrators plan to start the Remote Work for ME program next January with a cohort of about 60 rural students. The $1.2 million program will be funded by a $535,000 seed grant from Ascendium Education Group, a philanthropic organization focused on postsecondary education, as well as funds from the John T. Gorman Foundation, the community college system and its foundation.
“Over the years Maine has tried a variety of ways to bring jobs to rural communities,” John Fitzsimmons, president of the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges, said in a press release. “Through the advancement of technology, along with the support of employers, we can now connect urban-based companies with skilled workers working remotely. This is a win-win for both Maine employers and rural workers.”
The initiative is an outgrowth of the pandemic and the ways it appears to be reshaping the norms of American work culture. Employees across the country left their offices in droves in spring 2020 because of COVID-19. More than a year later, some workers may never go back to spending full weeks in the office. The percentage of workers permanently working from home is expected to double in 2021, according to a survey by the market research firm Enterprise Technology Research.
Dan Belyea, chief workforce development officer at the Maine Community College System, called this shift a “cultural transformation.” He said that many employees were “thrown into” working remotely during the pandemic without any preparation for the unique challenges of working partly or entirely from home, but going forward, students can be methodically taught how to thrive in a remote work environment.
“We want to train folks not only to do a job that’s in the range of remote work, but we want to train students in how to be highly successful and efficient,” he said. “That’s going to take a new set of skills. How do you work with folks that you may not necessarily see every day? How do you communicate? How do you project manage your work? How do you keep yourself motivated?”
Four of the colleges in the Maine Community College System are in rural areas, and all seven of them serve rural students, Belyea said.
The trend toward remote work could have particular advantages for rural communities experiencing population loss due to outmigration. Populations in many rural areas have been thinning for decades as college graduates leave in search of higher-paying jobs in cities.
Many of these students don’t actually want to leave, said Kai A. Schafft, director of the Center on Rural Education and Communities at Penn State University.
“The highest-achieving students from rural areas are also often those young people who are most connected with their communities,” he said. “I think in many cases, kids from rural areas would be happy to stay in the places that they’re from, or go somewhere else and return to those places, but there has to be some kind of economic opportunity as well.”
Remote work may be a way for alumni to use the credentials they earned in college and remain in the rural areas where they grew up, said Mara Tieken, associate professor of education at Bates College.
“One of the challenges with rural college-going is it exacts a higher cost on rural kids and rural families, because oftentimes going to college may mean getting a degree that can be really hard to put to use in your rural place,” she said.
She noted that universities too often have an “urban-centric bias” and steer students toward leaving rural areas. For example, many four-year institutions build their alumni networks, offer internships and advertise jobs predominantly in cities.
“Really meaningfully addressing that will take some deliberate work across colleges, really thinking about how are we urban-centric in our networking? How can we shift that?” Tieken said. “With remote work, that might be easier.”
Higher education leaders and lawmakers have put a particular emphasis on supports for rural students in the last few years. For example, the University of North Carolina system set a goal in January 2017 to enroll 11 percent more students from rural and low-income counties and to increase these students’ degree attainment by 20 percent in the system’s strategic plan through 2022. Senator Susan Collins, the Maine Republican, and Senator Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, introduced a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate last year to create a demonstration program intended to encourage rural students to pursue higher education, graduate and enter the workforce.
A new research alliance was formed in January to study rural regional colleges. Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit organization focused on community college student success, in February announced a new initiative, called Building Resiliency in Rural Communities for the Future of Work, to help rural colleges provide students with work skills and connect students to well-paying jobs.
There are over 260 rural community colleges in the United States, which educate nearly 670,000 students a year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Meanwhile, nearly 41 million American adults live at least 25 miles from the nearest college or university or in places where one community college is the only source of broad-access public higher education in that area, according to the Urban Institute. Rural community colleges suffer from disparities in local, state and federal funding, access to broadband internet, and student basic needs and mental health resources, according to a 2021 report from the Association of Community College Trustees.
Tieken pointed to spotty broadband access in rural areas as a possible obstacle for students as industries move toward remote work. Only two-thirds of rural Americans report having broadband access at home, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center study.
Belyea said he expects students to face these kinds of challenges, but the Remote Work for ME program will provide students with laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots as needed, free of charge, and students can keep the equipment after the program.
“As we did for our students during the pandemic, we’re going to make sure that’s not a barrier for them,” he said.
Other community college leaders are also considering new ways to give rural students access to remote work opportunities.
For example, Cloud County Community College in Kansas is now providing a coding certificate program in partnership with Rural & Remote, which trains remote workers in rural areas. The 50-hour, noncredit program will introduce students to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Command Line and other programming languages. This is the first time the college has offered a curriculum in coding and web design.
“This opportunity aligns with the college’s mission to prepare students to lead successful lives and enhance the vitality of our communities,” Amber Knoettgen, president of Cloud County Community College, said in a press release.
Maria Dahlquist, Rural & Remote tech lead for northwest Kansas, said in the release that the partnership is focused on reaching students who want to pursue a career where they can live anywhere — such as rural Kansas. The curriculum is designed for students of all experience levels, “even if you’ve never written code in your life.”
Charles Terrell, the outgoing president of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, said institution leaders have been exploring the idea of creating a hub for telecommuters in technology fields on campus.
In 2018, the college began renting space on campus to the Washington, D.C.-based technology firm ISMS Solutions, and in return, the company recruits students that work in the on-campus site. Terrell believes this can be a broader model where employers set up outposts on campus that offer jobs to students and graduates in the area. That way, students can telecommute to companies based elsewhere while working in a social, nonisolating environment with secure internet access. Simultaneously, the college can design training programs that meet these companies’ needs, he said.
He described his vision as a “cross-pollination between education and employers,” a community college “plus almost a technology park.”
“This becomes a recruitment pipeline for students to be able to work for an employer on-site, like ISMS, and know that they’re doing this at home in their community and not having to go and find jobs in Northern Virginia or D.C. or along the Beltway,” he said. For students in counties near the college with poor internet access, the campus may have better internet access than they have at home. “The college not only becomes a source for education but the site where they may be employed by another employer.”
Belyea, of the Maine Community College System, said he envisions the Remote Work for ME program as a model that can be replicated at other colleges that serve rural students and aim to help them succeed in a shifting work landscape.
“We’ve attempted to lower every barrier we can imagine to allow someone to access this program, access the equipment needed to be involved in this training and the ability to bridge the skills gap that they may have and provide a real wage for themselves and their families,” he said.
June 28, 2021
There’s a revolution underway at the office. Only it’s taking place in people’s home offices.
Remote workers have been so successful at working from home during the pandemic, that many are rejecting the idea of taking a job requiring them to put in 40 hours per week in an office.
Across the country, “office” workers have realized that many so-called “office” jobs can be done remotely by telecommuting. They are saving time and money by cutting out the daily commute. They report feeling more productive and having a better work/life balance. They see a future where they can pick where they live and stay in the communities that work best for them and their families. Barriers like housing costs, before- and after-school child care and transportation melt away.
The era of remote work has clearly arrived, even if the view is a little blurry around the edges.
Many employers like it too. For the right job, going to remote work lowers overhead and expands the pool of potential employees.
For people living in rural Maine, remote work represents an incredible opportunity — if they have the right training. That’s where Maine’s community colleges step in.
Under a new Remote Work for ME initiative announced this month, Maine’s community colleges are offering free online workforce training to rural Mainers. The training is for jobs particularly well-suited to remote work, such as medical transcription, IT support, customer service representatives, administrative assistants and many other jobs.
In addition to offering training for those remote worker jobs, the Remote Work for ME program will offer special training on how to be a successful remote worker. There are also scholarships available to pay for computers, software and internet connectivity on an as-needed basis.
The Remote Work for ME short-term workforce training courses begin in January 2022, as part of Maine Quality Centers at the community colleges. Most courses will take six to nine months. For a long time, Mainers have talked about wanting to live in rural parts of the state, but feeling economic pressure to move to more urban areas to improve their job prospects. Remote work eases that economic pressure. It also promises to deliver paychecks to people living across the state, revitalizing rural economies.It’s time people living in rural Maine had more economic choices. This program gives them the tools they need to be part of the remote work revolution. Dan Belyea is the chief workforce development officer for the Maine Community College System and oversees the Remote Work for ME project. Interested parties can learn more about the remote work classes by emailing him at [email protected] or going to www.mccsworks.com.
June 23, 2021
AUGUSTA, ME — The Maine Community College System (MCCS) welcomes Valerie Laure Bilogue, of Presque Isle, as the new student trustee on the Board of Trustees.
Laure Bilogue, of Presque Isle, is a computer and networking technology student at Northern Maine Community College (NMCC.) She worked as an IT instructor in her native Cameroon before coming to Maine in 2018 to join her husband, who is currently a nursing student at NMCC.
When she arrived in Maine, she realized that many immigrants are familiar with the university system in the United States, but not the two-year community college system. Part of the reason she wants to be on the Board of Trustees, she said, is to teach recent immigrants to Maine about the community college system.
“Community college is affordable, and really good for training,” she said.
She also wants to use her position as student trustee to highlight the value of diversity in a community, and share her experience as an immigrant and mother of four who pursued her education while raising young children.
“I want to encourage parents and tell them they don’t need to stop their education,” she said. “My children are really proud of me. It encourages them and they want to be like me. Parents, don’t be afraid! Go forward, and look to the future.”
“Valerie’s experience and passion for education brings an important perspective to our board,” said MCCS President David Daigler. “Her commitment to helping all students, and other immigrants in particular, is especially welcome.”
Laure Bilogue, a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, plans to work while pursuing a bachelor’s degree and eventually a doctorate. She graduated from NMCC in May.
Laure Bilogue was nominated by Governor Janet Mills and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Her first board meeting was on June 23.
The Maine Community College System’s Board of Trustees is the policy-making authority for the system and consists of 13 appointed voting members, one ex-officio voting member, and one ex-officio non-voting member.
June 21, 2021
AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Labor’s Center for Workforce Research and Information (CWRI) is excited to announce the launch of the Maine Post-Secondary Outcomes Report (MPSO), a MaineEARNS data series that provides the employment and earnings outcomes of graduates from the University of Maine System (UMS) and Maine Community College System (MCCS). We encourage you to explore the new Maine Post-Secondary Outcomes Report with expanded features and newly available data here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/mpso
“MaineEARNS is a wonderful resource for Maine people interested in using data to make decisions related to education and training. The tool provides insight into salary and industry of employment for Maine graduates,” said Laura Fortman, Commissioner of the Department of Labor. “I encourage you to take a look and explore the new features.”
MPSO is a longitudinal data series, containing aggregated graduate records beginning in 2009, three cohorts of graduates and up to nine labor market outcomes years of data after graduation. Available data includes the industries graduates enter, age at graduation, newly available outcome years, wages adjusted for inflation, and rollups that contain all students across all cohorts to increase sample sizes.
For ease of navigation, the new MPSO website displays data that can be viewed from different perspectives including by Broad Fields of Study, by Program, by School, and for General Research purposes. The published data is searchable by credential or degree, area of study, and school, displaying aggregated information for cohorts of graduates ensuring individual confidentially.
The data system serves as a platform for understanding what happens to cohorts of students after completing post-secondary credentials and as they progress through the workforce. It can be used to address such questions as:
- How many graduates go on to work in Maine?
- What do they earn?
- How do the wage and employment outcomes for various credentials compare?
- In which industries do graduates find employment?
We invite you to view the data, which can be used to find post-secondary credentials available in Maine, and is an excellent resource for prospective students, their parents and any others exploring or advising others about higher education.
“This dataset shows how much you can earn after spending just one or two years at a community college. Looking to earn more than $60K? This data shows that there are many programs at the community colleges – including electrical lineworkers, telecommunications tech, healthcare, precision machining, computer science, business – that can get you there,” said David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System. “Reliable, specific wage data can be hard to find. This new searchable database puts detailed information at everyones fingertips, allowing them to make smart choices about their careers and education. That’s a good thing.”
“A college degree can improve wages and opportunities across generations,” said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “MaineEARNS provides students and their families with information that can help them make the right choices about their college and career pathways. Providing better insights on the impact of higher education also creates the incentives we need to engage more people with our programs and build a stronger, more highly qualified workforce for Maine.”
MPSO is a MaineEARNS product, built in partnership with UMS and MCCS. Grants from the U.S. Department of Labors Education and Training Administration including the Workforce Data Quality Initiative grant (WDQI) grant provided the majority of the funding for the project, with additional state support. MaineEARNS was originally launched as a pilot in 2014. Data from participating education and training programs are matched with available unemployment insurance wage records. To learn more about the many capabilities and limitations of the MPSO report, please visit: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/mpso/about.html
June 3, 2021
AUGUSTA, ME — A $535,000 grant from Ascendium Education Group to The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges is seeding a $1.2 million Remote Work for ME project at Maine’s community colleges. The project provides rural Maine residents with free training so they can pursue remote work opportunities.
The grant, supplemented with $400,000 from the Maine Community College System, $208,000 from the Foundation and $75,000 from John T. Gorman Foundation, will provide training for more than 700 people over the next three years.
The announcement comes amid a nationwide shift in attitudes about remote work, and as Maine officials pledge to invest $129 million in federal funds into internet expansion, which will greatly increase the ability of rural Mainers to participate in remote work.
“Over the years Maine has tried a variety of ways to bring jobs to rural communities. Through the advancement of technology, along with the support of employers, we can now connect urban-based companies with skilled workers working remotely. This is a win-win for both Maine employers and rural workers,” said John Fitzsimmons, president of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges.
Remote Work for ME courses begin in January 2022. All training is free for participants, with scholarships available for computers, related software, and internet connectivity on an as-needed basis.
The bulk of the instruction will be six- to nine-month-long courses for people living in rural Maine, preparing them for jobs conducive to remote work, such as medical transcription, IT support, customer service representative, administrative assistants and financial services. There will also be a certificate course for how to be a skilled remote worker, and a certificate course for supervisors on how to lead a remote team of workers.
Demand for this kind of focused training is increasing as industry leaders shift to remote or hybrid schedules. The number of permanent remote workers is expected to double in 2021, according to a survey from Enterprise Technology Research.
“There is a cultural transformation taking place in the workplace. There is no turning back,” said Maine Community College System President David Daigler. “Workers and employers saw what was possible during the pandemic, and for many of them remote work is not only possible, but preferable.”
Global Workplace Analytics projects that 25% to 30% of the workforce will be working remotely multiple days a week by the end of 2021. Further, Global Workplace Analytics estimates that remote workers can save up to $4,000 per year due to lower food costs, fuel costs, parking and car maintenance. A typical employer can save about $11,000 a year for every employee who works remotely half of the time, the group said, due to lower cost of office space, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and less turnover.
The program and training materials were developed with input from major Maine employers, including Unum, L.L.Bean, Bangor Savings Bank, and MaineHealth, each of which adopted remote work schedules for large Maine-based workforces during the pandemic. As part of the program, MCCS is establishing the Maine Advisory Council on Remote Working with business leaders to provide ongoing guidance and feedback.
For L.L.Bean, which traditionally hires more than 800 seasonal holiday employees for customer order calls, the pandemic meant they had to not only interview and hire remotely, they also had to train new employees remotely and ensure a seamless work-from-home operation throughout the busy holiday season.
“Last year, remote work became a necessity for our company, and we would not have been able to make it through the holiday season without a highly trained remote staff,” said Sarah Cox, vice president of Human Resources at L.L.Bean, which employees more than 4,000 people globally. “Remote work is here to stay, and this initiative is an important investment in the Maine economy as a way to reimagine the future workforce, creating new opportunities for more people throughout Maine.”
Maine’s community colleges have a competitive advantage by providing a comprehensive, affordable and accessible remote work program just as the economy emerges from the pandemic.
“The Maine Community College System has already assisted hundreds of businesses by expanding and strengthening their workforce through the training and upskilling of thousands of Maine residents,” said Danielle Vetter, senior program officer at Ascendium. “Strategically preparing for the future of work, this initiative continues that success as more learners from low-income backgrounds in rural areas gain the skills necessary for roles in high-demand and high-mobility fields, particularly those with remote working opportunities.”
With this grant, The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges has raised nearly $43 million since it was established in 2009.
Ascendium is a nonprofit organization that supports efforts that seek to create large-scale change in postsecondary education and workforce training so more learners from low-income backgrounds have the opportunity to achieve their academic and career goals. This grant is part of their focus area to support rural postsecondary education and workforce training.
Maine’s seven community colleges have the lowest tuition and fees in New England and serve more than 29,000 individuals a year through degree programs, customized training, and opportunities for lifelong learning.
Ascendium Education Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping people reach the education and career goals that matter to them. Ascendium invests in initiatives designed to increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who complete postsecondary degrees, certificates and workforce training programs, with an emphasis on first-generation students, incarcerated adults, rural community members, students of color and veterans. Ascendium’s work identifies, validates and expands best practices to promote large-scale change at the institutional, system and state levels, with the intention of elevating opportunity for all. For more information, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.