CBS13 & FOX23 hosts town hall discussion on Maine's labor crisis
PORTLAND (WGME) -- With more than 45,000 job openings and not enough people to fill them, Maine is in a labor crisis.
On Monday, CBS13 and FOX23 talked to industry leaders from BIW, Hannaford, Hospitality Maine, AGC Maine and the Maine Department of Labor about meeting the need.
Bath Iron Works is marketing itself as much more than just ship building. A spokesperson for the shipyard says with 7,000 employees, they have many of the same positions that are needed to fill a small town.
One of Hannaford's major initiatives is a management trainee program that recruits people right out of college.
Hospitality Maine has created an education and apprenticeship program to keep the pipeline of workers open.
Associated General Contractors of Maine, known as AGC, is working on a pilot program with 7 schools around the state with the goal of getting students on the job faster. They also partner with other community organizations to help remove barriers to the workforce, like transportation and childcare.
At the Maine Department of Labor, Commissioner Laura Fortman talks about how they are partnering with Maine businesses to grow and expand.
The Department of Labor says they are also working to get people into the workforce who have traditionally been overlooked for employment, such as those with disabilities or in recovery.
From recruitment to retention to training, industry experts talked about the steps they are taking to forge cutting-edge solutions to Maine's labor crisis.
