PORTLAND, Maine — Maine needs more skilled workers, especially young ones. If the state can match young people to jobs and careers they’re interested in while they’re still in school, or perhaps just a few years out of it, it might help the job market and give the state’s economy a bit of a boost. It could also help those young people start down a good path in life.
How to make those things happen? That’s where the Maine Career Exploration Program comes in.
It offers paid jobs to young people who participate and helps pair them with employers who can mentor them and introduce them to a possible career. Available to Mainers ages 16 to 24, the program also helps employers by providing them with much-needed workers. In short, when things go as planned, it's a win-win.
"We have the opportunity to help young people cultivate passion in what they’re doing," Kay Kerina said. Kerina runs the program for the state. "A young person can go to a supportive adult and say, 'I’m interested in...' Then that aspiration is explored and supported, and that young person has a blossoming pathway to find what this may mean to them."
Want to learn more about the Maine Career Exploration program, who’s eligible, and what it entails? Watch our conversation.