I want to highlight the significance of two recent Press Herald articles describing great developments in workforce training, both locally and statewide.

“Enrollment rises at Midcoast vocational schools as stigma about trade work diminishes” (Sept. 30) and “Maine Community College to make $60 million investment in workforce training” (Oct. 5) illustrate the growing demand for the career and technical education programs in our local schools and how a new Harold Alfond Foundation grant to our community colleges will help Maine provide the foundational skills essential to a thriving manufacturing sector.

This is welcome news.

Significantly more students are focusing their education on skills to position them for stable, rewarding careers that will employ them for decades, supporting families and helping build strong communities.

Whether career and technical education graduates are building ships, bridges or solar farms, Maine needs that technical know-how for our future prosperity.

Our state faces a labor shortage rooted in our demographics and exacerbated by the pandemic. Career and technical education and our community colleges offer a way to address this shortage, as students can enter the workforce in numerous occupations right after high school or expand their skills without incurring lifelong debt.

Policymakers in Augusta and Washington should take note of the increase in student enrollment in technical education programs like those in Bath and Brunswick and do all they can to provide the resources necessary for such programs to succeed.

Dirk Lesko
president, Bath Iron Works
Bath

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