Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 9 , 2 0 1 7 18 education and the workplace. ornton Academy off ers internships with Arundel Machine Works and Pratt & Whitney where students receive training and skills they can use. We need more training for occupational spe- cialists. HR professionals need to look at their workers and say, 'How can I advance the careers of these people?' Education needs to be more bite-sized in scope and cost. Q: How can Maine increase its labor pool? Amanda Rector: Maine needs to use a multi-faceted approach to address the workforce needs now and in the coming years. We need to make sure those people already here who would like to work and are unable to fi nd suitable employment can become employed. is might include people with disabilities, veterans, older workers and displaced workers. We also need to attract more young workers to the state. To accomplish this, Maine needs to implement policies that allow workers and businesses to prosper. Maine is competing not just with the rest of the country for these workers and busi- nesses but with the rest of the world. ings like tax policy, lower energy costs and infrastructure improve- ments are important pieces of the puzzle for making Maine more competitive. In some ways, it's a chicken- and-egg situation: people move where they know they can fi nd a well-paying job and businesses locate where they know they can fi nd skilled workers. We have to tackle both sides of the issue at the same time. John Traynor: Maine has the oldest median age in the nation and was one of only two states, the other being West Virginia, where deaths outnum- bered births between July 2014 and July 2015. One potential answer is to make use of legal immigra- tion. Only 3.5% of Mainers are immigrants versus 13.1% for the U.S. economy. ere are many qualifi ed workers that I am sure would love to fi nd jobs in Maine if the connections could be made. Jonathan Reisman: e obvious answer, endorsed by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, is immigration. Immigrant communities bring energy and entrepreneurship along with sometimes sig- nifi cant cultural stress. Attracting more productive immigrants to Maine, be they Muslim, Christian or Gaian, will require a more welcoming attitude and an improvement in the state's economic free- dom and prospects. Without jobs and opportunity, immigrants will neither come nor be welcomed. Rachel Bouvier: While Maine's unemployment rate is lower than it is nationally, that fi gure masks some unpleasant truths. Our labor force participation rate has been declining for the past decade or so, partly due to the aging of Maine's population, but also partly due to 'prime age men' leaving the workforce. Our biggest challenge is to boost that labor participation rate, through education and job training. We also need to welcome 'new Mainers' with open arms. Our 'native' population is declining, not growing, so if we're going to survive, we need to do everything we can to support them. Again, our greatest asset is our natural environment and way of life. Increasing broadband access and supporting remote workers, like through co-working spaces, can encourage people who vaca- tion here to think, 'we could live here.' Charles Lawton: Immigration plays a major role because you have so many people who have received professional training in other countries. We need to work to get people certifi ed here and help with the language barriers. With people moving state to state, it's often the 'trailing spouse' issue and that gets into high-quality schools, aff ordable housing and so on. But we could also market Maine as an alternative to the congestion of Washington, D.C., New York or Boston. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, Maine's comparative advantage is its natural capital — land, forest, water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a water. The struggle will be how to harness that natural capital in a way that doesn't jeopardize future growth. — Rachel Bouvier

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