How the Maine Career Exploration Program is Boosting Youth Workforce Participation
We know that Maine has a talented, resilient workforce; we need to bolster our local talent attraction and retention to keep this incredible workforce growing year over year. With a task of adding 75,000 people to our workforce by 2030, we ask how can we do this. We know one of our untapped talent pools is right in the nearest classroom, or participating in workforce readiness training at a local community based organization. The Young People of Maine are excited to explore the many opportunities here and at the Maine Career Exploration Program we are excited to make that happen. By bridging young people’s aspirations for success with the wide variety of opportunities right here in Maine, we set out to pay 6,000 young people for work experiences to add to our goal of 75,000 new workers.
By offering Maine’s young people a chance to learn about opportunities, connect them to work and gain soft skills, we hope to continue to succeed in growing our local talent, ensuring that Maine has the people it needs to support its necessary economic growth goals.
Based on the recommendations of Maine’s Economic Development Strategy 2020-2029, the State, educational institutions, and the private sector are investing in career exploration and high school technical education, as well as pathways to career initiatives for undergraduates. In October 2021, the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan was enacted into law, enabling millions of dollars to support the priorities laid out in the Strategy. In 2022, Maine established the Maine Career Exploration Program, which was awarded $25 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds. The $25M investment built the foundation for the program’s three major partnerships with the Maine Department of Education, Jobs for Maine’s Graduates, and the Children’s Cabinet to have thousands of young people participating in the program.
The Maine Career Exploration program is working to connect thousands of young people in Maine to future career opportunities by funding paid work experiences with employers across the state. We work with students on an age-appropriate level to help them explore career opportunities that are in line with their individual areas of interest. Students’ ability to explore local career opportunities and build community networks is critical to retaining young people in Maine and strengthening civic responsibility, and businesses and industries of all varieties can take advantage of the program’s offer to pay for up to 75 hours of work experience! The Maine Career Exploration Program is working to build bridges for those who are not in the workforce, to enable them to join. Maine has approximately 100,000 people who are of working age but not currently in the labor pool. We need to ensure that all people, especially those who are underrepresented and young people who are disengaged (neither in school nor in the workforce), find their roles and passion.
While there is not one simple solution to this challenge, there are many strategies that, when pieced together, can help us tackle this issue and the Maine Career Exploration Program is making things happen.
