MCCS Launches Workforce Strategy Webinar Series

AUGUSTA, ME — A new monthly webinar series analyzing Maine workforce strategies launches Wednesday with a conversation about managing remote workers.

The series, called “Business Blueprint: Workforce Strategies in Maine’s Evolving Economy,” will feature guests with lived experience and subject matter expertise, sharing best practices, opportunities, and resources to benefit Maine businesses and workers. The series is produced and presented by The Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce, the short-term workforce training center for the Maine Community College System (MCCS).

On Wednesday, guests Bruce Walker from L.L. Bean and Julia Trujillo Luengo with the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development will be in conversation with host Joshua Howe, MCCS deputy executive director of workforce training and remote work.

Trujillo Luengo will update viewers on the implementation of the state’s 10-year economic plan and the initial findings of a recent employer survey, and Walker will share how L.L. Bean has expanded remote work in recent years, how remote work has impacted company culture, and the lessons learned since COVID. Register for the webinar online at bit.ly/mccs-remotereset.

“This is a timely, practical kickoff to a webinar series that we hope will be truly useful to Maine businesses and workers,” said Dan Belyea, chief workforce development officer of the Harold Alfond Center. “In conversation with our 1,300-plus business partners across the state, we’ve learned there is a tremendous appetite for this kind of conversation between business leaders. Collectively, we are our own best partners, sharing our experiences and knowledge broadly and helping each other face the challenges and opportunities in Maine’s changing economy. We’re looking to provide real solutions to real problems – and add value that lifts up businesses of all sizes across the state.”

A schedule for the webinar series is posted on the MCCS website. Upcoming topics include:

• 2024 Employer Changes: Maine’s New Retirement Savings Mandate
• Investing in Your Workforce: The Dirigo Business Incentive
• AI in the Workplace: How AI Will Change Your Workforce in 2024
• Consistent Healing: What You Need to Know about Recovery in the Workplace
• The New Mainer Advantage: Tapping into Talent to Help Your Organization Grow
• Your Best Investment: Why Apprenticeships Should be a Priority
• From Incarceration to Employment: How and Why to Hire Return Citizens

Recordings of the webinar series will be posted on the MCCS website and the Alfond Center and MCCS YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels.

The Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce coordinates all short-term workforce training programs for Maine’s community colleges. The Center launched in 2021 and speeds the delivery of critical training to both students and employers through pre-hire training, incumbent worker training, and scholarships that support short-term workforce students continuing to degree and certificate programs.