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Jason Judd is the executive director of Educate Maine.
It is well known and documented that Maine has a workforce shortage. “Help Wanted” signs appear often on Main Streets in every county. Demographically, Maine is the oldest and most rural state. More Mainers are retiring from, rather than entering, our workplaces. These subject matter experts need to impart their knowledge, skills and wisdom upon the upcoming generation of talent to help our economy thrive. Meanwhile, young adults are searching for new and increased onramps to the career pathways they want and need.
Furthermore, to achieve its 10-year strategic goals, Maine needs to attract and retain 75,000 more workers into the state’s talent pool by the end of this decade. This is no small or temporary endeavor.
Progress is being made and Educate Maine is proud to be hard at work helping meet this goal with state, local, business and nonprofit partners. Collectively, we are crafting solutions to address our workforce challenges. Without question, it will take all of us to solve this.
An exciting piece of this solution is new youth apprenticeship programs.
May 5-11 is the first Youth Apprenticeship Week, a national celebration highlighting the benefits and value of registered apprenticeship programs specifically designed for youth ages 16-24. We are proud that Maine employers, high schools, CTE schools, community colleges, four-year higher education institutions, workforce agencies, the Maine Department of Labor and other Educate Maine partners across our state are launching apprenticeships that support our next generation of Maine’s workforce in many ways.
Working with trained and accredited mentors who guide and support them throughout the process, youth apprentices develop technical and interpersonal work skills, earn competitive wages while learning, build powerful connections for future careers and conclude their apprenticeships with a credential of value. Many apprentices also earn college credits and invitations to future jobs.
Educate Maine is supporting four creative youth apprenticeship pilot partnerships: two in automotive with Darlings Auto Group in Bangor and Goodwin Chevrolet and Mazda in Brunswick; a computer technician apprenticeship with Compusult in Ellsworth; and a robotic CCTV pipe inspector apprenticeship with Vortex Services in Livermore.
Just a year and a half into this work, our early evaluation shows positive and promising feedback.
From a youth apprentice studying automotive: “The apprentice program makes it so if I make a mistake, it’s not a huge deal. I don’t feel as pressured or nervous to be the one that doesn’t know things. I’m in position to ask, which is a big help.” His advice to other students is, “Come in smiling. Don’t be nervous. You’re in the apprentice program for a reason. Not all people know things. You can come in with nothing and learn. My biggest piece of advice is to just come in with a smile on your face and be positive.”
We received similar positive feedback from employers. Kim Cotta, program supervisor at Darlings Auto Group shared: “Automotive technician might not be top of mind for career choices for some people, but just being associated with this whole program brings it to the forefront. … If this is a young person’s passion, and they want to learn this, there is an avenue into this industry. Nobody is born a master technician. If it’s what someone wants to do, then being part of an apprenticeship program is a way to get there.
“Now we have a pathway for young people who have an interest, have a little bit of mechanical ability, never went to school for automotive, and don’t have past experience,” Cotta added. “Now we have an avenue to training them. That’s another segment of the population that previously we weren’t really looking at to hire.”
Given these outcomes, Educate Maine is committed to doubling down on youth apprenticeship programs and expanding them into other sectors and regions across Maine.
