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Maine Voices: For green jobs,
should graduates stay or go?

There's a serious shortage of environmentally friendly jobs in Maine that match the education schools offer.

By ADAM MARQUIS

PORTLAND - Forget death and taxes. The two certainties of life in Maine are a lack of good-paying jobs and high and volatile energy costs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Marquis recently graduated with an environmental science degree from the University of Southern Maine, where he completed his internship with Opportunity Maine.

Even in the midst of the Great Recession, we can turn this around if we focus on two strategies that have the greatest potential for success -- investing in the education and skills of our citizens and in the development of the clean energy sector.

On education, as a recent college graduate facing the "should-I-stay-or-should-I-go" question, I can say first hand that it is a difficult one and, frustratingly, seems outside of my control.

Although I was born, raised and educated in Maine, I have also lived in other states. Time away made me realize how great Maine is, but having recently completed a degree in environmental sciences -- a fast-growing field -- I have found it is nearly impossible to find a job here.

That's true even though I could land a job tomorrow in Massachusetts. Business opportunities of the 21st century will not be fully realized if Maine's work force is not prepared.

One example of how Maine has faced this challenge is the newly created Opportunity Maine Program.

The program allows individuals who earn an associate or bachelor's degree at a Maine college or university and continue to live and work here to be reimbursed for student loan payments through an income tax credit.

Alternately, businesses that create a student loan reimbursement program as an employee benefit are eligible to take the credit instead. This type of bold yet practical initiative rewards Maine's workers with educational opportunity, rewards businesses with a better-educated and skilled work force, and contributes to a stronger and more sustainable economy.

And on energy, as the snow piles up every year, so too does the burden of heating and other increased energy costs. Whether in our household budget or the state budget, these higher costs are offset by cuts elsewhere. The inverse relationship between energy costs and economic growth could not be clearer.

We can address our economic, educational and energy challenges head on by bridging the gap between our economic and work force development strategies. Developing the clean-energy sector will create opportunities for Maine to prosper in a rapidly changing, internationally competitive, knowledge-based economy.

Incredible job growth would result for many professions, including engineers, carpenters, plumbers, researchers, marketers, financial services, steelworkers, machinists, IT specialists, energy auditors, and electrical, HVAC, wind and other technicians, all with upgraded certifications in a variety of green skills.

Unfortunately, Maine continues to suffer from a vicious cycle keeping our economy weak, outsourcing the knowledge and skills of our current and future work force, while wasting billions of dollars on foreign oil.

What message are we sending to our students, employees and businesses when the potential for job and business creation is lacking, yet so clear? Are we marketing "the way life should be" without the prospect of better jobs and a brighter future?

State and federal policymakers have made a good start with greater attention to and investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the education and skills of our work force. But more focus and coordination are needed. We need a plan that Mainers can believe in, contribute to and succeed within.

An aggressive, coordinated economic and work force development strategy will address both sides of this "weak economy" coin.

If we focus on developing an educated and skilled work force and a clean-energy sector, educational and economic opportunities, greater energy independence and an even higher quality of place will follow.

Average incomes and educational attainment levels in Maine continue to be the lowest of any state in New England. Every year our colleges and universities graduate thousands of young people, only to see this investment short-circuited because too many of those graduates are unable to secure decent-paying jobs.

As this outflow of knowledge and skills continues, so too does our weak economy.

- Special to the Press Herald