CARIBOU — Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) is currently soliciting comments from employers and employees in the construction and transportation fields to ensure that Aroostook County’s needs and concerns are heard and included in a proposed United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Workforce Development Job Training Grant application. Potential funding would allow NMDC, the Local Workforce Investment Board, ACAP Employment and Training, and Northern Maine Community College to develop and implement a new and innovative certificate program to be offered for the first time in Aroostook County that focuses on environmental health and “green” job training opportunities in the Construction and Transportation sectors. These programs are designed to assist the unemployed and underemployed populations with gaining employment in construction and transportation industries.
The green economy is rapidly expanding and evolving nationwide and its potential to replace lost jobs is great. With over 17 percent of the population in Aroostook County living below the poverty levels and unemployment rates at approximately 9.1 percent, many who have worked in the transportation and construction fields have lost their jobs and are having a difficult time finding employment. These statistics highlight the need to apply for this grant program to educate, train and develop a workforce to help integrate new green technologies as it relates to the traditional construction and transportation sectors found in Aroostook County.
Despite the unemployment challenges found in Aroostook County, this is a great opportunity for employers and employees to provide meaningful input into the program development and curriculum for this project. If you would like to have more information about the Environmental Workforce Development Job Training Grant program or to comment on the grant application, please contact Ryan Pelletier, Workforce Development Director, at (207) 498-8736, toll free at 1-800-427-8736 or rpelletier@nmdc.org prior to March 15, 2011.
Established in 1967, Northern Maine Development Commission is a nonprofit organization that provides regional planning, economic and community development, business loans and packaging, geographic information system services, and small business counseling services to the northern Maine region. In addition, NMDC is the lead agency for the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone. For more information, please visit NMDC’s web site at http://www.nmdc.org.
