Narrative: I. b.

The following pages outline Maine’s four-year strategic and operational plan for enhancing its workforce. Maine, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing a healthy, thriving economy and historically low unemployment. This plan is developed with the intent of continuing the success of Maine’s businesses and helping people whose employment barriers have kept them from thriving in this economy.

This is a Unified Plan developed in accordance with the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and to establish the long-term agenda for Maine’s workforce development system. This plan covers the following programs authorized by the WIOA:

• Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth programs
• Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program
• Title III Wagner-Peyser Employment Services
• Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation Program

Under the direction of the State Workforce Board (SWB), the aforementioned programs and other stakeholders participated in facilitated sessions to develop the vision and priorities for the Unified Plan and to collaborate on the development of an integrated, performance-based employment and training system. This Unified Plan will result in: quality jobs for Mainers, employers matched with skilled workers, and a more efficient workforce development system (WDS).

In late 2019, Governor Mills published a 10-year economic development strategy for the State of Maine. The strategy has two key components, increasing talent and spurring innovation. Maine’s workforce is talented, skilled, and needs more participation. There are approximately 100,000 people in Maine who are of working age and not working. Many individuals have barriers to employment that they struggle to overcome. It is the State’s goal to build bridges over these barriers, enabling all who wish to work to do so. We firmly believe that everyone has a place in Maine’s economy.

Maine has numerous resources that contribute to its workforce development system. In order for that system to meet the needs of employers and workers alike, these resources must be better aligned and integrated across all sectors – public, private, non-profit and philanthropy. A high-quality workforce will enable Maine to better retain existing businesses, draw new ones that bring high quality and good paying jobs, and attract new workers to meet the goal set forth in Governor Janet Mills’ economic development plan to add at least 75,000 people to our work­force over the next ten years.

The Unified Plan (Plan) starts with a clear vision:

Maine’s residents and businesses will have economic opportunity and contribute to the growth of the state through a responsive, networked, and coordinated workforce development system across public and private sectors. The system will integrate all services into a seamless continuum resulting in increased educational and employment attainment for residents with a focus on careers and support Maine’s business sectors with skilled and qualified workers. To realize its vision Maine will:

• Partner and respond to the talent needs of Maine employers
• Create a system of lifelong learning and employment connection for Maine residents
• Build an integrated workforce development infrastructure accountable to residents and businesses

Throughout the strategic planning process Maine’s workforce system partners demonstrated a willingness to engage in the development of solutions and strategies that will meet the needs of employers, workers, and Maine’s economy. These actions will result in quality jobs for Maine residents, employers matched with skilled workers, and a more efficient workforce development system.

Maine’s State Workforce Development Board (hereafter referred to as the State Workforce Board or SWB) directed the creation of this Unified Plan with the intent that the plan should reflect the state’s unique workforce and economic development characteristics and challenges, as well as the ideas and solutions of the myriad stakeholders that comprise Maine’s workforce development system.

Beginning in September 2016, the SWB formed a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) implementation steering committee that included the directors of Maine’s local workforce investment boards and the directors of the authorized core programs: Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth, Wagner-Peyser, Adult and Basic Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation (see Appendix B for members of the WIOA implementation steering committee). The Steering Committee’s role was to monitor the implementation of the State’s workforce plan.

Maine used a collaborative process to establish the vision, goals, and strategies represented in this plan. During October, November, and December the SWB held sessions across the state where stakeholders including the administrators of core programs, local workforce board directors and members, secondary and higher education representatives, policy makers, advocates and employers participated in the visioning work represented in this Plan (see Appendix C for a list of sessions and participants).