Partnerships build workforce development pathways

The pandemic has created challenges with how work is conducted, with changes seen around the globe and locally. In Washington County there is a noticeable shortage of skilled workers in many areas, including healthcare, automotive technology and electrical and plumbing services. Wait times for goods and services are often longer, and consumers are feeling the effects of these shortages.
Charles Rudelitch, executive director of Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC), speculates that several thousand workers have dropped out of the Washington County workforce since the pandemic started. In a county with an overall population of approximately 31,000, when that many people are not working it has a significant impact. Individuals and families experience lost or reduced income, and customers find that goods and services are not as readily available or accessible as they once were.

Job opportunities created
In spite of the challenges facing Washington County as a result of what many consider a workforce crisis, there is reason to be hopeful. Individuals and organizations from across the county, working in partnership, have developed several innovative initiatives intended to provide educational support and training for local residents. These workforce development efforts seek to increase and expand opportunities both for initial employment and for job advancement.
The Division of Workforce and Professional Development at Washington County Community College (WCCC) in Calais collaborates with businesses and industry leaders, as well as workforce, economic and community development organizations, to determine occupational demand, identify core competencies, stimulate innovation and provide educational opportunities and resources for employees and employers. Nichole Sawyer, the dean of Workforce Development and Community Engagement, describes the mission as partnership-building and engagement with businesses, industries and organizations. The goal is to develop educational and training opportunities to meet the needs of employers, as well as to offer opportunities to individuals to gain knowledge and skills that will enable them to find a job, move into a new area of employment or advance in their current career path.
Two innovative workforce development programs have recently been launched by WCCC's Division of Workforce Development and Community Engagement in partnership with the Sunrise County Economic Council, the Machias Valley Center for Entrepreneurship and a number of other partners and collaborators. Both are designated as "pathway programs." Sawyer says, "Pathways offer maps for folks, so that they can see exactly what career tracks exist within a career cluster or an industry and then create an on ramp, and a pathway, for themselves that consists of stepping stones that will lead onward and upward to new career opportunities."

Entrepreneurship as career pathway
The Partners in Entrepreneurial Pathways program was launched in October 2020. Its goal is to promote entrepreneurship and small business ownership as a viable and attractive career pathway for students, as well as provide on the spot training to the overall small business community. This pathway consists of two accredited 10 or 11 week virtual courses providing the knowledge and skills necessary to start and grow a small business. Each session is led by a different guest lecturer who is a subject matter expert in the field. The first course, Pathways 1.0: Venture Exploration, focuses on how to start a new business. The second course, Pathways 2.0: Beyond the Business Plan, focuses on how to manage a business once it's up and running. Both pathway courses are open to current or aspiring entrepreneurs, at no cost.

Behavioral health career pathways
The Partners in Behavioral Health Pathways offers 16 different training opportunities, all within the field of behavioral health. Its goal is to provide knowledge and skills for those interested in working in inpatient and outpatient mental health care and counseling, substance abuse treatment and recovery, including drug and alcohol counseling, child and youth services and more. Sawyer comments, "Organizations in the mental health field are struggling to fill jobs; they are facing a major workforce crisis." Many of the courses in the Behavioral Health Pathways Program can be taken for credit, and that credit can be transferred to degree and certificate programs in health and human services offered by WCCC. As a result, this pathway not only offers participants the opportunity to gain specific job related knowledge and skills but also opens doors for further educational advancement.

Fisheries and marine technology
Sawyer is always on the lookout for, as she says, "new ways to develop strategic partnerships with business and industry across the state, to identify and meet skill gaps and workforce shortages." She is particularly excited about a recently launched Coastal Fisheries and Marine Technology Program. This degree program at WCCC, designed in partnership with members of the fisheries industry, will prepare students for various career trajectories within the industry. "We're also working in partnership with a number of aquaculture industry organizations to develop some aquaculture-specific coursework, hopefully launching in the fall of '22," she explains.

Workforce, entrepreneurship and infrastructure
The Sunrise County Economic Council initiates and facilitates the creation of jobs and prosperity in Washington County by working with a consortium of community minded businesses, not for profit organizations, municipalities and citizens. It was founded by a group of community leaders and business owners more than 25 years ago to promote economic development. Currently the council's focus, according to Rudelitch, is on "workforce, entrepreneurship and infrastructure."
Focusing on the workforce means investing in individual workers and providing education, skills and knowledge necessary for successful careers. Focusing on entrepreneurship means supporting the success of businesses, from small, family owned shops to large companies. Focusing on infrastructure means paying attention to both the private and public sectors that provide the goods and services that enable businesses and communities to thrive.
Family Futures Downeast (FFD) is currently SCEC's signature workforce development initiative, according to Rudelitch. FFD is a collaborative partnership between six organizations and agencies -- including, in addition to SCEC and WCCC, the Community Caring Collaborative, Downeast Community Partners, Axiom Education and Training Center and the University of Maine at Machias (UMM) -- to promote post secondary education for parents living in poverty and provide high quality early childhood education for their children. What is innovative and unique about FFD is its two generational focus: providing college access at either WCCC or UMM for parents, and particularly young mothers, while at the same time improving school readiness for their children. Through intensive family coaching, college preparation and tutoring, workforce supports and barrier removal, FFD seeks to reduce poverty, create employment opportunities and improve stability for families in Washington County. It is, says Rudelitch, a workforce investment program that helps parents with young kids who are in or near poverty to attend and succeed in college, as a pathway to living wage jobs and financial independence.
In addition to FFD, the SCEC administers a scholarship program that supports training and certification directly related to a current job or an employment opportunity that would not be covered by other sources of state or federal financial aid -- for example, commercial driver's license training or medical technician training. The scholarships themselves are relatively small, says Rudelitch, but when combined with other sources they make an enormous difference in enabling prospective employees to get the training and certification they need.

Challenges and successes
Efforts to promote workforce development in Washington County are challenging during the best of times and are even more so during the pandemic. Sawyer says, "We are not immune to the workforce crisis ourselves, and we sometimes have a hard time finding instructors for our programs." In addition, the large geographic area of Washington County, lack of public transportation, the distance that some people have to drive for work or education and the county's relatively small population all pose challenges for workforce development efforts. Rudelitch acknowledges that the recent in migration of new residents during the pandemic may have a positive impact on some of these challenges, but it is a little too soon to tell for sure.
There are, also, some bright spots and successes to be celebrated. Both Sawyer and Rudelitch note that the use of virtual technology to deliver courses and training online has been very effective and popular. People in remote parts of the county have been able to take advantage of these opportunities. While worries about access to technology are always a concern, particularly for those with limited economic resources, recent efforts to increase broadband across the county are expected to make Internet access easier and more affordable.
The collaborative model employed by both WCCC and the SCEC to promote workforce development has also been remarkably successful. As Sawyer says, "We have a saying around here that we don't really get much done without leaning on each other."