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February 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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MCCS training partnerships create jobs and economic opportunity across Maine
In partnership with local employers, Maine's community colleges are providing workforce training to hundreds of Mainers this winter. In the process, they are enabling businesses to expand and giving new and incumbent workers the skills they need to advance.
A partnership between
North East Mobile Health Services and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is addressing the ambulance service's need for trained emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who speak both English and the languages of the immigrant and refugee communities in the Greater Portland area.
Some of the 16 trainees in the program have medical backgrounds in their native countries but aren't working in medical fields here in Maine because of language barriers and licensing requirements.
The six-month program aims to give students skills that meet the needs of the marketplace and, along with the required EMS curriculum, includes instruction in medical interpreting and English as a second language.
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Last year, some 135 Maine businesses and organizations and over 3,000 individuals benefited from specialized training delivered by the
state's community colleges
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North East Mobile Health Services employs 175 full-time employees in Maine and expects to hire 15 to 20 EMTs in the coming year. The company has committed to interviewing all students who successfully complete the training.
Funded in part by a grant from the
Maine Quality Centers (MQC) program with additional support from the John T. Gorman Foundation, the training is delivered by the college's ESOL and global languages department, business and community partnerships department, and by its emergency medical services (EMS) program.
Here is just a sample of some of the other training programs currently underway.
Learn more about how Maine's community colleges can help you grow your business.
- Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC) in Bangor is expanding its partnership with OnProcess Technology to provide training to an additional 130 new employees. With funding from MQC, the college has provided customer service training to 153 new OnProcess employees since the supply chain management company opened its facility in Belfast in 2015.
- EMCC has also partnered with EMERA Maine to provide training to heat-pump installation technicians in the company's service areas. The training, a heat-pump certification course, will prepare participants to take the EPA-approved refrigerant certification test.
- With a $28,000 grant from the MQC program, SMCC is partnering with American Roots, an outerwear products company in Portland, to provide commercial sewing training to up to 15 job candidates and current employees, many of them immigrants and refugees who have come to Maine with stitching experience.
- Casco Systems, an engineering and system integration firm in Cumberland, continues to contract with SMCC to deliver leadership and project management training to its employees. Funded by a grant from the MQC program, the most recent round of training is expected to serve up to 24 workers at this growing company.
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A certified success
In 2015, 98% of MCCS students who sat for a state or national licensure exam passed the test and earned the certification needed to work in their chosen field. Every year, hundreds of MCCS students prepare for these tests. This semester, at Washington County Community College, students are studying for a variety of licensure exams. They include:
- Nine students who are completing a certified nursing assistant (CNA) course in preparation for the state CNA exam. Once earned, the certification will enable them to work in hospitals and other health care facilities in Washington County and across the state.
- The college is also offering a series of courses that will enable participants to sit for the state's propane technician license exam and earn their license by next fall.
- 24 students are enrolled in emergency medical technology (EMT) and responder (EMR) classes this semester, preparing to take the state exams that will license them as either EMTs or EMRs.
And at CMCC, 13 students, many of them pictured here, have recently completed a combination of CompTIA and Microsoft certifications to earn the college's Information Systems Support Specialist Certificate.
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MCCS Trustees tour the new academic building under construction at YCCC.
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YCCC's new building named for longtime corporate partner
York County Community College will name its new academic building in recognition of
Pratt & Whitney's longtime, generous support of the college. The building, due to be completed later this year, will include eight classrooms, a math and English lab, study areas, and a 140-seat lecture hall.
Learn more about Pratt & Whitney's ongoing commitment to work with YCCC to attract and train a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce in the 21st century.
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Precision machining instructors from across the country train at CMCC
CMCC's precision machining program is one of the largest in the Northeast and has been recognized as a leader in the training of computer numeric control (CNC) machinists. It recently won a $1 million grant from the Gene Haas Foundation to expand its lab and
holds a National Science Foundation grant to develop new curriculum and train multi-axis CNC instructors. In January, instructors from as far away as Nebraska were on campus to complete teacher training programs at the college.
Take a look inside the precision machining lab at CMCC and hear from students in the program.
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What a single degree can do for an individual, a community, and a county
Jane Andrews was looking for a way to provide financial stability for her family and made the decision to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a teacher. She enrolled part time at WCCC and completed her associate degree in 2005. She transferred her credits to the University of Maine System, where she took a number of courses online, and graduated with degrees in education and special education from the University of Maine at Machias.
Jane became a 4th grade teacher at Princeton Elementary School where her contributions to her students and the school have earned her the distinction of Washington County Teacher of the Year in 2016.
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Workforce development key to a positive economic outlook
MCCS President Derek Langhauser delivered the keynote address to over 700 members of Maine's business community at the Maine Real Estate & Development Association's annual forecast conference in January. His message: the education and workforce training provided by Maine's community colleges are vital to a strong Maine economy.
Continuing education this spring: from CPR to wild game cooking
Across the state each semester, Maine's community colleges offer a range of professional development offerings. KVCC announced its offerings this week. They include recertification opportunities for healthcare providers and food service workers, training programs in welding and 3-D printing, a six-week professional bartending class, and wild game cooking classes (fish in February and small game in March). Learn more about continuing education programs at the seven community colleges.
When it rains it pours good ideas at KVCC
Three students from Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) are the recipients of a $500 stipend from the Maine Campus Compact for their proposal to limit runoff water on the Farm at KVCC. Katlyn Cinq-Mars, Tina Makinson, and Sierra Ingalls have proposed making rain collectors that would gather greywater for plants at the farm, an idea that is designed to reduce both water consumption and runoff.
For 122 electrical professionals: staying current
Northern Maine Community College hosted 122 local electrical professionals in January for a two-day, 15-hour update on national and state electrical codes, laws, and rules. The participants earned a code update, which is necessary for their license renewal every three years. Many of those attending graduated from the college's electrical construction and maintenance program over the past several decades. Brian McDougal, a long-time faculty member in the electrical program was the instructor for the event. "It is great to have this many graduates return to campus for code updates," he said. "This group represents the industry well, and the college has many reasons to be proud of their accomplishments."
EMCC adds human services degree program
Graduates of EMCC's new human services degree program, which launched in January, are preparing to work at social service organizations, hospitals, elderly programs, and community mental health centers. The curriculum is designed to meet the competencies for the Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician/Community Certification offered through the State of Maine.
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Christopher Paradis (l), CMCC's Corporate and Community Services workforce training specialist, recently toured Hancock Lumber's Bethel sawmill to learn more about the company's workforce and professional development needs. He's pictured here with Kevin Raven (r), Hancock's human resource and training process improvement manager.
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SMCC's culinary program has a new recipe for success
A feature story in
Old Port Magazine highlights the changes being made to SMCC's culinary arts program in response to business needs and industry trends. As the article notes: "Continuing to refine the curriculum, adding more local, seasonal foods and introducing sustainable practices...are part of the plan, as is working with the [college's] horticulture department on a kitchen garden and with marine sciences on aquaculture."
EMCC hosts emergency management training
EMCC hosted first-responder training in January in conjunction with the Maine Emergency Management Agency, the FBI, and Maine Army National Guard. The focus of the two-day training was on biological threats, explosive and toxic chemicals, agri-terrorism, and the lessons learned from the bombing in Boston in April 2013.
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