BANGOR, ME –Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined students, job training professionals, and business and community leaders at Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC) and the Bangor Chamber of Commerce in Bangor to discuss ways to grow the state’s economy to help hardworking people get skilled jobs in Maine.

“Businesses across Maine tell me the same thing: they need more qualified workers,” said Senator King. “This affects every industry, from trucking companies to software developers to manufacturers, and is felt in every corner of the state. As our state’s population ages, it becomes more important that we look for creative approaches to bolster our workforce. EMCC and the Bangor Chamber of Commerce are working to train young people and keep them in our state. Their leadership, and the leadership of so many other organizations across our state, is a vital part of Maine’s bright future.”

The meetings in Bangor continue Senator King’s statewide conversation on workforce development, which highlights the need for expanded career and technical education opportunities for Maine people seeking high-quality jobs in their communities. This spring, Senator King has visited Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) in Portland, the Cianbro Institute in Pittsfield, a new workforce development center at Cianbro Corporation Inc., and met with local business owners in downtown Skowhegan and Damariscotta. He also devoted the April edition of his podcast, Inside Maine, to the subject, speaking with Peter Vigue, chairman of the Cianbro Companies about the Cianbro Institute, and Ed Cervone, Executive Director of Educate Maine, about his work to provide technical education opportunities and encourage more people from nontraditional backgrounds to pursue careers in IT.

Senator King has made workforce development one of his top priorities and outlined strategies to modernize and expand Maine’s workforce in the economic agenda he introduced in April 2017. Senator King supported the March omnibus spending bill – despite reservations regarding the rising deficit – in part because of important opportunities for economic growth, including a $75 million increase for the Perkins Career and Technical Education state grant and a $15 million increase in funding for Jobs Corps. The Loring Jobs Corps Center in Limestone and the Penobscot Job Corps Center in Bangor provide disadvantaged youth with the skills needed to obtain and hold a job, enter the Armed Forces, or enroll in advanced training or higher education. The January 2017 assessment from the Economic Development Assessment Team (EDAT), originally requested by Senators Collins and King in March 2016, also outlined strategies to grow Maine’s economy and bolster the workforce in rural parts of the state.