Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X X I X D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 2 0 12 WO R K F O R C E D E V E L O P M E N T "I f you have integrity, cour- age, commitment … let's talk," the Maine Department of Corrections beckons on its website's career opportunities section. As of early December it had 45 vacancies, including 37 correctional offi- cers but also an English teacher at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland — a good indication of the range of jobs in the state's prison and juvenile detention system. It's cur- rently responsible for 1,750 inmates and 6,700 individuals on probation. e department's workforce of 1,075 people consists of 456 correctional or juvenile officers and more than 100 supervisory staff. e remaining jobs range from intelligence and clerical positions to food service, plumbers and vocational instructors. "ese jobs are good jobs," says Commissioner Randall Liberty, who has led the department for two years under Gov. Janet Mills. "ey're recession- proof and they come with state retire- ment benefits. It's a great opportunity to not only land a job, but also to progress and to have a career development." Working with Purchase, N.Y.,-based Townsquare Media Inc., the depart- ment aims to spread that message on social media targeting veterans and oth- ers seeking careers in law enforcement. HR Director Darlene Sage says the hardest jobs to fill are for engineers and building maintenance. Liberty, who has worked in law enforcement and corrections for nearly four decades and served in the Army Reserves for 24 years, says the department hires about 15 Maine Criminal Justice Academy graduates each semester but can always use more people. "Corrections can be a challenging but very rewarding career field, and I feel as though we'd love to have more appli- cants," he says. "We're competing with other industries obviously." An ongoing need for workers at's especially true today as a number of Maine employers ramp up hiring and the job market starts to recover from the pandemic. Among the state's largest pri- vate employers, Scarborough-based Hannaford Bros. is looking to fill 365 openings to add to its Maine work- force of 10,000. As an essential business that has been busy throughout the pandemic, spokes- woman Ericka Dodge says the supermar- ket chain has been actively hiring since mid-May and plans to continue to do so in 2021 for seasonal, part-time, full-time and management positions. "We are focused on hiring people who are looking for a job or a career path where they can make a difference in a supportive environment," she says, pointing to a wide range of jobs at the company including real estate, market- ing, purchasing and accounting as well as retail management. "ere's more than meets the eye at Hannaford." Labor market trends While the rate of unemployment has tapered off from the peak reached early in the pandemic, the rate is still higher than it was a year ago. In October, Maine's jobless rate was 5.45%, down from 6.1% in September but nearly twice the rate of 3.0% in October 2019. A total of 589,200 people were employed in nonfarm jobs in October. at's 56,400 more than in April but 48,100 below what it was in February, according to the Maine Department of Labor. October data also show that sectors with the biggest job losses last spring — leisure and hospitality, health care P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Randall Liberty, commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, and Darlene Sage, director of human resources. Liberty has run the department for two years under Gov. Janet Mills. F O C U S S O U R C E : Figures were provided to Mainebiz in early December CHANGE IN JOBS BY SECTOR S O U R C E : Maine Department of Labor JOBS BOARD SNAPSHOT Hannaford Bros. 10,000 employees in Maine at 63 stores Maine Department of Corrections 1,075 employees Tilson 521 employees in 40 states ReVision Energy 265 employee- owners in Maine, N.H. and Mass. Defendify 12 employees MaineHealth 22,000 employees Bath Iron Works 6,500 employees Corrections can be a challenging but very rewarding career field, and I feel as though we'd love to have more applicants. — Randall Liberty Maine Department of Corrections −40K −35K −30K −25K −20K −15K −10K −5K 0K 5K 10K 15K 20K 25K Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Construction Information Educational Services Professional & Business Services Health Care & Social Assistance Other Sectors Manufacturing Financial Activities Leisure & Hospitality Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities FEB. – APRIL FEB. – SEPT. APRIL – OCT. 365 vacancies 39 openings 45 vacancies 30+ openings 2,650 projected 2021 hiring 1,700 vacancies 2 vacancies As the job market recovers, Maine employers are hiring B y R e n e e C o R d e s DONE Getting the job

• Cover