ECD commissioner highlights workforce development, selling Maine 'brand'
Photo / Renee Cordes
Heather Johnson, Maine's commissioner of economic and community development, spoke Friday about the goals and priorities of Maine's 10-year strategic economic development plan that's currently in the making.
Heather Johnson, Maine's commissioner of economic and community development, sees workforce development and selling the Maine "brand" at the heart of Maine's economic future, she said Friday in Portland.
"It isn't about an Augusta plan, it's a state plan," Johnson said of the 10-year economic development roadmap currently in the works and due to delivered to Gov. Janet Mills by mid-November. Johnson was speaking at the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce's Eggs & Issues forum.
She also highlighted the need to sell the Maine brand in a way that attracts investment and workforce talent, noting that most of the 37 million visitors to the state every year come back at some point, "so there's something here that creates a connection for people."
Without going into specifics about the long-term roadmap currently in the works, Johnson said the goals will include expanding the workforce and making sure that wages grow for everyone and across all categories — not just for scientists but also teachers and hospitality workers, and for people in both urban and rural areas.
She also talked about reshaping the discussion about workforce to a more holistic one with a focus on attracting and retaining talent, and said "there is no one right answer or solution."
As an example, she said that any discussion about driving innovation and diversification in the forest products sector should not exclude addressing the shortage of loggers.
"The reality is, we don't have enough loggers," she said. "You can't create nanocellulose without someone getting a tree out of the woods." She also noted that you can't grow technology without researchers and others, saying there's a broad range of things needed to make sure everyone has a place in Maine's economic future.
"They're all valuable, and we need everyone to contribute," she said.
She said the plan's goals align closely with those she discussed with then-Gov.-Elect Janet Mills in December for her own role and mission, including selling Maine in a way that attracts investment and workforce talent.
On that front, she said the state is collaborating with Live +Work in Maine on a "boomerang campaign" to attract people who have left Maine for various reasons back to the state. "We do strongly believe that people that have a connection to Maine will be the easiest people to attract back to Maine," Johnson said.
While economic development goals don't happen overnight, she added, policy makers will spend the next few weeks talking to businesses, organizations and communities about how to do that and what role they see for themselves.
Johnson said that more than 600 people have been working on the roadmap since April, and the next timetable is Tuesday's strategic solutions summit at four University of Maine System campuses.
Nov. 15 is the date for delivering the plan to Mills's desk, which will give policy makers a couple of weeks to make tweaks for a final product by the last week of November, she said.
Most Recent
Most Recent
1 Comments