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Fall 2017
Maine's community colleges offer affordable customized training and continuing education that give businesses and employees the skills they need to compete. Here's what we've been doing lately and what we can do for you.
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It's a busy fall at Maine's community colleges as faculty and staff work with employer partners to design and strengthen programs that are focused on building a stronger, more highly skilled Maine workforce. Highlights include:
A new construction institute at SMCC
Working in close collaboration with the state's construction industry, SMCC has launched a new construction institute that offers a series of courses targeting the specific needs of the industry.
"The Construction Institute teaches skills that are in high demand within the industry and that are available to workers when they need them," notes SMCC President Ron Cantor. "Individuals who take courses through the institute can build towards a college credential as they go."
This fall, 29 students are enrolled in the Institute. Twenty-two of them are unemployed or underemployed Maine residents whose tuition is being covered by a grant from the MCCS Maine Quality Centers and whose entry into the industry will help ease a severe shortage of skilled construction workers.
Learn more
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EMCC collaborates with regional hospitals to train nurses
EMCC has partnered this fall with
Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and
Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville to address a shortage of registered nurses in Piscataquis County. An initial cohort of
14 students is taking introductory courses at the Penquis Higher Education Center in Dover-Foxcroft this fall. Next fall, they will begin their nursing courses, many of them delivered by videoconferencing from EMCC, and will then complete their clinical experiences at the hospitals. The college anticipates rolling out the same program next year in Ellsworth.
Learn more.
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Brian Souers (r) of Treeline Inc. in Lincoln congratulates Jason Durant (l), who completed NMCC's Mechanized Logging Operations program in September and immediately began working at the company. All of the students who have completed the program have secured a job or received job offers.
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Breaking a logjam in the Maine woods
NMCC held a graduation ceremony last month for students who have completed its 12-week mechanized logging operations program in Millinocket. A partnership with the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, the program is funded in part by the MCCS Put ME to Work initiative and is designed to train more professional loggers for work in the Maine woods.
Future sessions are planned for other regions of the state, to be delivered by EMCC and WCCC. Funding for the project has been matched by the industry, which has donated the use of harvesting equipment and the work site. Instruction has included both hands-on and classroom training in the mechanical systems used in modern timber management, timber growth and tree species, market flux, and safety.
Learn more.
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A business start-up takes a step up
Misty Edgecomb of Auburn turned a part-time massage therapy practice into a full-time undertaking, but when it came time to expand, she realized she didn't have the skills to grow the thriving business. So she enrolled in the business program at CMCC, a place where she felt comfortable as a non-traditional student with a busy practice and a
young family.
"I went into this experience looking to take a few classes, to fill in where I felt there were holes in my education. I wanted to run my business with a little more knowledge. I now have confidence in my business dealings. I feel like I can graduate from CMCC and keep growing," she says. Misty plans to earn her degree and then transfer on to study human physiology.
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For Pratt & Whitney employees at YCCC: an apprenticeship and a degree
Fourteen employees at Pratt & Whitney's North Berwick plant have completed YCCC's apprenticeship program and, in the process, completed their associate degree in trade and technical occupations. The group is the first to complete the college's rigorous apprenticeship program, which requires 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and college coursework.
Learn More.
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MQC training at a glance:
For two Maine companies, a focus on productivity
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Who: Welch Signs and Flowfold, in partnership with SMCC
What: Training in LEAN manufacturing, supervisory skills, and communications and more for up to 36 employees
Why: To increase productivity and improve job retention
How: Grants totaling $62,300 from the Maine Quality Centers program
Learn more about how Maine Quality Centers can help strengthen your workforce.
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Labor market expert joins MCCS as workforce strategist
John Dorrer, a former acting commissioner of Maine's Department of Labor and director of the department's Center for Workforce Research and Information, has joined MCCS to help review and strengthen the System's statewide and local approaches to workforce development. Dorrer previously served as director of labor market research at Jobs for the Future in Boston and as senior advisor at the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. He is working closely with Dan Belyea, MCCS director of operational support, who was recently named to lead the Maine Quality Centers (MQC) program and coordinate other MCCS workforce training initiatives. As interim director of workforce training, Dan replaces longtime MQC Executive Director Jim McGowan who retired this summer after a 21-year career with MCCS.
YCCC opens new Pratt & Whitney building
YCCC introduced visitors to its new 18,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building at a grand opening last week. The new building adds much-needed space to the fast-growing campus in Wells. The naming recognizes Pratt & Whitney's long-term support of YCCC, including $700,000 in gifts to The Foundation for Maine's Community Colleges to support construction of the new building. Learn more.
At CMCC, a new Center for Workforce and Professional Development
CMCC's new
Center for Workforce and Professional Development will work with employees and organizations to address and strengthen their workforce and professional development needs. Michelle Hawley has been named to lead the center which builds on the services previously delivered by the college's Corporate and Community Services Department.
Internships and fellowships at SMCC prepare students for careers in Maine
More than a dozen SMCC students spent their summer doing research on lobsters, oyster parasites, fish populations, bird genetics and other marine related topics. The experience prepares students to continue their education or join the workforce after they graduate.
Read more.
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NMCC Chef Rob Ottaviano
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He's on a roll!
Competing against chefs from some of the best seafood restaurants in Maine and around the country, NMCC Chef Rob Ottaviano was a finalist in the World's Best Lobster Roll competition held in July in Portland.
His twist on the roll includes Maine butter and maple syrup. Watch the video of Rob preparing his recipe so you can try this delicious treat at home.
Added sustenance from The Farm at KVCC
The 120-acre farm at KVCC's Harold Alfond Campus is a key resource for students studying sustainable agriculture, culinary arts, and more. Recently, it has also served another practical purpose at the college: supplier to the campus dining operation. Food Management Magazine recently
profiled the farm.
NMCC's precision machining program cited for excellence
NMCC's precision machining technology program has had its accreditation for excellence in metalworking training renewed for five years. This means that the program is maintaining its status among the best training providers in the United States. Learn more.
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