75 degree-seeking students are studying at CMCC's new PMT Center this fall.

According to the Manufacturers Association of Maine, nearly 54,000 people work in the manufacturing sector in Maine and earn an average salary of $54,080. But 82% of the state's manufacturers say they can't find the workers they need.

Maine's community colleges are on the job, working to address the industry's need for skilled workers:

Honors programs enable students to engage deeply in their education

	CMCC student Fanie Wabwende (r) works with a classmate on a lab assignment.

Fanie Wabwende will graduate this spring from CMCC's life sciences honors program and enroll as a first-year student in UNE's Doctor of Pharmacy program.

Alex Chapman graduated from KVCC's liberal studies program as an honors student, which enabled him to participate in a competitive summer, pre-law program at the University of Maine School of Law. He is currently enrolled at the University of Southern Maine (USM) where he is studying political science and working as a freelance writer.

Fanie and Alex are two of the more than 75 students who enroll each year in a growing number of honors courses, options, and programs offered at three of Maine's community colleges. The programs -- at CMCC, KVCC, and SMCC -- provide students the opportunity to engage in enriched learning experiences that emphasize critical thinking, research, and self-reflection.

The programs vary at each college. SMCC offers honors courses that are academically rigorous and draw on diverse perspectives and course materials. Students can also add an honors option to a course by designing and completing work that extends the course requirements. This might include a service learning or independent research project.

At CMCC, the honors program is specifically designed for students enrolled in its life sciences program. Students in KVCC's program take an honors seminar and complete three honors projects and a portfolio of their work.

SMCC's Honors Program Coordinator Eben Miller says participation in honors programs enables students to engage deeply in their education, and can provide students a clear advantage in transferring to competitive colleges and universities.

The average cost of tuition and fees for a year of full-time study at Maine's community colleges is $3,600, and 75% of full-time students receive financial aid. Want to know more about the benefits and opportunities at Maine's seven community colleges? See the 2017-2018 MCCS fact sheet . 

Richard Stone, a recent graduate of SMCC's architectural & engineering design (AED) program, spent his summer creating 3-D drawings of wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure that will be used for decades by the City of South Portland.

The work was part of a paid internship through the city's Water Resource Protection department, which gives SMCC students valuable work experience and results in highly skilled employees for area businesses.

Since the program has been in place, five students have completed the internship and been hired by Maine firms including Bennett Engineering in Freeport, Becker Engineering in Portland, and Wright-Pierce in Portland, says Meridith Comeau, chair of SMCC's AED program.

Now employed by Sebago Technics Inc. in South Portland as a computer aided design technician and 3-D modeller, Stone is quick to promote the benefits of internships.

"The amount of real-world experience I gained in such a short amount of time was astounding," he says. "And I met a lot of potential employers."

SMCC instructor contributes to major ocean research
SMCC science instructor Megan McCuller was part of a team whose research on transoceanic species was featured this fall in a cover story in Science, one of the world's leading academic journals. The team studied the migration of marine species across the Pacific Ocean in the wake of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Believed to be the largest and longest migration of marine species ever documented, the study collected and analyzed the remains of boats, docks, and other structures that crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the West Coast and Hawaii in the years following the tsunami.

NMCC to launch state's first water treatment technology program
In response to a growing need for qualified technicians at water treatment facilities statewide, NMCC will offer a new degree and certificate program in water and wastewater treatment beginning in 2018. The program, created in consultation with the Maine Departments of Environmental Protection and Health and Human Services, will also include on-line training modules for professionals already in the field to keep them current with certification requirements. As John Belyea, the new faculty member leading the program notes: "This program will have a real impact keeping Maine's lakes and rivers clean for future generations and ensuring the safety and purity of our drinking water." Read more.

EMCC and Maine Coast Hospital partner to train more nurses
Having worked with Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville to deliver nurse education in Piscataquis County, EMCC is now partnering with Maine Coast Hospital in Ellsworth to address an ongoing shortage of nurses in Hancock County. Beginning in 2018, the college plans to provide training to a cohort of eight nursing students at its Hancock County Higher Education Center through a combination of on-site and on-line courses and clinical work at the hospital.

MCCS President Derek Langhauser (center) spoke recently to the Rotary Club of Portland about the strategic role Maine's community colleges play in preparing a skilled Maine workforce. He's pictured here with Rotarians Don Zillman and David Clough.

Recognizing a "guardian angel" at WCCC
For the 28 years that Rhonda French has been teaching business management at WCCC, she has also been teaching her students the value and importance of community service. Both in and out of the classroom, she has led by example, spending more than 1,000 hours each holiday season helping to distribute clothing and toys to more than 500 disadvantaged children in Washington County. Together, she and her students have also raised funds and gifts for service men and women in Afghanistan and organized an effort to ship shoes to children in Tanzania. This fall, she was recognized by WLBZ-TV for her tireless commitment to helping others. She is, as one of her WCCC colleagues has said, "the guardian angel of Washington County."