New propositions before the Maine State Legislature are aimed at keeping Maine’s youth from seeking out of state education and employment. Among the proposals are strengthening relationships between universities and the business sector, creating a legislative team to do so and launching a comprehensive state marketing campaign. The proposals were first outlined by the Advisory Task Force on Creating a Future for Youth in Maine, in their final report to the legislature in January. The Task Force found that a majority of young people want to stay in Maine, but that many of them believe Maine’s universities and job markets offer few opportunities. Lawmakers think this may be a misconception.
Nick Kimball is a senior Media Studies major at USM and would love to stay here, but said he would most likely have to look elsewhere for jobs. “I don’t see much hope for job placement,” he said. “There are a lot of entry-level positions, but they don’t have good pay or benefits.”
USM senior Robyn Ward echoed Kimball’s sentiment. “I think there’s a lot of jobs out there,” she said, “but they are not necessarily high paying ones, or ones you’d really want. Most of them are in fast food service and retail.” Ward plans to leave the state to find work, but said she would like to return once she has established a career.
Senior business major Andrew Potvin is also weary of Maine’s employment offerings. “There might be jobs out there, but I don’t know of them,” he said, “If there was a good job for me, I’d definitely stay in Maine.”
Many state government and community leaders are insisting students do not need to leave Maine to find jobs. They point to poor communication between academia and business communities as the cause of a false perception among students. The Advisory Task Force found many industries are in need of skilled workers, but students are not being properly connected with the employers. They also found opportunities for recruitment like job fairs are not aggressively marketed to young employment seekers. Ward, Kimball and Potvin were all unaware of USM’s upcoming April job fair. Kimball said, “Colleges need to promote job fairs better have them more often, and get more businesses to talk to students. They all need to play a larger role.” Potvin agreed. “The problem is that it doesn’t seem like the state promotes jobs for young people,” he said. He added that he did not know where to turn to find career information.
To help students find jobs and educational opportunities, Maine House Speaker and co-chair of the Advisory Task Force Patrick Colwell, has sponsored a bill named “An Act to Coordinate Education, Job Training, and Employers in Maine.” It outlines the creation of a State Work Action Tactics (or SWAT) team, which would pass public policies meant to enhance the relationship between Maine’s higher learning and business sectors. Some of the SWAT team’s activities will include creating a comprehensive website to help high school and college students find information about degree programs, careers and business opportunities. The bill states that the site must be well publicized, easily accessible, updated frequently and be available by January 2005.
To compliment the work of the SWAT team, Colwell’s bill also outlines plans to create a comprehensive marketing strategy to entice students, workers and entrepreneurs aged 15 to 31 to explore Maine’s educational and state business options. The campaign would highlight highly accredited university programs; resources for small businesses, specific job market growth and Maine’s living and leisure benefits.
Junior criminology major Laura Minnis said this is quite an undertaking. “How are they going to revamp a view of an entire state?” she said. “Maine is what it is. I think that they really need to ask younger people to figure out what the outlook of a 20 year old is, instead of having people 35 years plus telling me why I should stay in Maine.” She said she has never considered staying in Maine after graduation. She does not think the state will prove very marketable to young people. “I don’t like Maine. There’s not enough going on here. I don’t see Maine as being in a good economic state, or having a lot of opportunities.”
Kimball disagrees. “I love it here. Portland is a great city, with fun things to do, and host to a lot of great special events. If I have to move, I won’t be happy about it,” he said.
Other proposals before the legislature include creating a statewide internship program, reorganizing student loan repayment options, creating more affordable housing and reducing the cost of in-state tuition.
Students interested in career information can visit USM Career Services on the first floor of Payson Smith Hall.
A copy of the Task Force’s report is available at http://www.state.me.us/legis/opla/meyothrpt.PDF
Amy Bickford can be contacted at [email protected]