During the 126th Legislature, I was the Senate chairwoman of the Joint Select Committee on Workforce and Economic Development, which was dedicated to finding new ways to cultivate a skilled workforce that can meet the demands of the 21st century economy.
That’s why I couldn’t be more proud to have been invited back to my alma mater, Thornton Academy, for the grand opening and ribbon-cutting of its new STEM Center. STEM, if you don’t know, stands for science, technology, engineering and math. These four subjects are the pillars of an education designed to prepare students for highly skilled careers.
The new STEM Center at Thornton Academy includes eight new, state-of-the-art classrooms built as an addition to the existing Scamman Science Building. Together with the engineering lab, these spaces will give TA students even broader opportunities for self-driven, inquiry-based education in these vital areas of study.
The STEM Center is a brickand mortar representation of the school’s dedication to preparing its students for those jobs of the future – jobs such as those in our own backyards at Arundel Machine and at Xuron in Saco. Those are just two of the dozens of employers who partner with Thornton Academy for apprenticeships and other educational opportunities for students.
Our economy is changing. Gone are the days when anyone with a strong body and willingness to work could get a job at the local mill. Want to be a logger? Today, that requires much more than a saw and a hardhat.
Today, jobs in manufacturing, natural resources and other fields all require finely tuned skills. Computer literacy is prerequisite, as are many other skills that we associate more with the research lab than the production line.
Partnerships between private companies and educational institutions can play a crucial role in ensuring Maine’s workforce is prepared for this new reality, and competitive. The one-two punch of world-class STEM instruction in the classroom and real-world experience in apprentice programs is a model that should be replicated again and again.
We’ve seen similar success at the college level. York County Community College has a partnership with Pratt & Whitney. The manufacturing company contributed surplus machinery and tens of thousands of dollars to a machinist training program at the school.
These relationships are mutually beneficial: They provide the students with invaluable experience to give them a competitive advantage in higher education and in the workforce, and they provide local companies with a pipeline of wellqualified potential employees.
I’ll be working with Linda Roth, TA’s School-to-Work coordinator, to identify even more potential partnerships in our area, and I encourage anyone with suggestions to contact me with their ideas.
The depths of the great recession may be in our rear view, but Maine is still struggling to climb back up toward its successful future. We must not be left behind in the nation’s recovery, and must do everything we can to meet the workforce needs of the future.
There’s always more work to be done, but I’m so pleased to see that Thornton Academy, York County Community College and local businesses are stepping up to do their parts.
— Sen. Linda Valentino is the Senate Democratic lead on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. She resides in Saco.
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