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Workforce development program will focus on Maine's outdoor recreation field

A person on a bike cycles through the snow. File Photo / Courtesy Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation Maine’s outdoor recreation industry has the sixth largest share of the gross domestic product in the nation, thanks to activities like mountain biking, manufacturing and hospitality.
By Laurie Schreiber

Main Street Skowhegan, a nonprofit focused on the revitalization of the Somerset County town, plans to launch a program to provide hands-on training and certification opportunities in the outdoor recreation industry.

Dubbed Career Access through National service and Outdoor Education, or CANOE, the program will offer classroom instruction, experience through service and in-person training modules with Maine-based outdoor businesses and professionals. The goal is to create pathways into and to expand year-round outdoor recreation jobs in central and western Maine, in fields such as fishing, whitewater guiding, trail building and maintenance, outdoor business, retail, manufacturing and hospitality. 

Spread across the state, the outdoor recreation industry contributed $3.4 billion to Maine’s economy in 2023 — 3.7% of the gross domestic product — the sixth largest share in the nation.

A coalition of stakeholders is looking to grow that amount to $3.7 billion by 2035 by creating a Maine Outdoor Recreation Economy Roadmap, a 10-year plan designed to bolster the industry through economic investments, workforce expansion and community revitalization. 

Employment gaps

“Central Maine faces significant prime-age employment gaps, and CANOE represents an opportunity to provide free, high-quality workforce training for local residents — equipping them with the skills needed to access good jobs while advancing the region as a four-season outdoor recreation hub,” said Kristina Cannon, president and CEO of Main Street Skowhegan and a 2024 Mainebiz Woman to Watch. 

The initiative is supported in part by Main Street Skowhegan’s U.S. Economic Development Administration Recompete Strategy Development Grant, which focuses on closing regional prime-age employment gaps and advancing long-term economic mobility.

Developed in partnership with the University of Maine at Farmington and supported by $50,000 in scholarship funding from the Skowhegan Savings Charitable Foundation, CANOE is seeking partner organizations and industry professionals to help design and deliver training modules beginning in early 2026.

Partners are needed in order to bring CANOE to life, according to the organization.

Training modules

CANOE builds on the nonprofit’s Skowhegan Outdoors AmeriCorps Program, which provides a gear library and outdoor programs.

“Through Skowhegan Outdoors, we’ve spent years introducing thousands of youth and adults to the outdoors through free community programming,” said Amber Albe, the organization’s outdoor program and pathways manager. 

“CANOE takes that work to the next level by laying the groundwork for participants to turn their passion for the outdoors into employable skills, certifications and professional networks, and by streamlining opportunities to pursue higher education.”

Albe is spearheading the design and launch of CANOE.

The University of Maine at Farmington, home to an outdoor recreation business administration program, is helping to shape the CANOE curriculum to ensure training modules align with industry needs. Participants who complete the CANOE program will receive automatic matriculation into the outdoor recreation business administration program, which is expected to create a path from workforce training to higher education and career advancement.

Rural jobs

“Maine’s outdoor recreation economy is expanding rapidly, and developing a program like CANOE is critical for meeting the evolving workforce needs of the industry, all while supporting rural communities that are investing in outdoor recreation as a pillar for their future success,” said Austin French, UMF’s director of career pathways and employer engagement.

Scholarships will cover tuition, certification fees and logistical support. 

Participants will also earn a stipend and an AmeriCorps monetary award upon completion.

The pilot CANOE cohort will launch in early 2026 with five participants. The plan is to scale up to certify at least 10 rural residents annually. 

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