$60M workforce training center, led by Maine community colleges, aims to help thousands

Courtesy / MCCS A student learns welding via hands-on instruction at Eastern Maine Community College.

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By Jessica Hall

The Maine Community College System on Tuesday announced the creation of the Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce, a virtual center that will direct a total of $60 million to help train a projected 24,000 workers over four years.

The center will focus on providing free or low-cost training to solve Maine workforce challenges such as the mismatch between worker skills and employer needs, the low education attainment rate, a shrinking workforce and the need to make training and education more accessible at the workplace.

“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 Gov. Janet Mills in a news release.

The funding includes a four-year $15.5 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation, $35 million in workforce training funds from the state’s jobs and recovery plan, and another $10 million in matching funds provided by the private sector, other grants and established workforce funding.

The $35 million in funds through the jobs and recovery plan was approved by the Maine Legislature and signed by Mills in July.

“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 Harold Alfond Foundation.

“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 initiative aims to cut red tape, save time and money and improve the speed of delivery of workforce training by pooling resources and coordinating all short-term training initiatives through the center.

The center will target unemployed and under-employed Mainers who lack the skills to compete, as well as workers who need additional training to remain relevant and advance, and the more than 150,000 Maine adults who have some post-secondary credits but no degree or credential.

The goal is to pull together varied current workforce training efforts into a single system that combines opportunities for both short-term training and longer-term degree or certification attainment. The center also is designed to serve as the training division for Maine’s small- to medium-sized employers who lack the resources to sustain in-house training departments.

The new $15.5 million Harold Alfond Foundation grant follows a smaller grant awarded to the Maine Community College System in 2018. That grant was used by the MCCS workforce training arm, Maine Quality Centers, to provide free short-term training in four industries: health care, information technology, construction and manufacturing and the trades.

The new funding will provide free or discounted training to more than 13,000 people, primarily incumbent workers seeking advanced skills or a credential.

The infusion of $35 million in recovery funds will allow MCCS to expand free, short-term workforce training for about 8,500 Mainers in health care, the green economy, trades, manufacturing, hospitality, education and computer technology.

In recent months, the Maine Quality Centers signed a compact with more than 80 businesses and associations around the state. Under the agreement, the business partners pledge to work with the community college system to support workforce training. The training and education needs to happen in partnership with the companies that are hiring to get qualified Mainers into high-demand, good-paying jobs.

The businesses include large employers such as MaineHealth, L.L.Bean Inc., and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, as well as smaller employers including UnionRiver Lobster Pot, Mariner Beverages and Allenfarm Fence Co.

“It’s not enough to provide training for just their first job, or even mid-career training,” David Daigler, president of the MCCS, said. “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.”

A new, $1.2 million Remote Work for Me project will provide rural Maine residents with free training so they can pursue remote work.