Maine Community College System an integral part of Maine’s workforce equation

Maine’s workforce needs are persistent and pressing. The business community, educators, Legislature and Mills administration are all rightfully looking to tackle the longstanding workforce challenges in the state — including an aging population, a mismatch of skills and available jobs, and somewhat paradoxically, a strong economy with low unemployment that has some business owners scrambling to find workers.

These are not unprecedented or unanticipated problems. We’ve been circling around these same issues for years. But the dire projection from the Maine Department of Labor that Maine will add fewer than 100 net jobs by 2026 underscores the imperative to bolster education and training opportunities for Maine people — and to connect them with jobs that can keep them here in the state.

The Maine Community College System has and must continue to play a pivotal role in that work. More»