Portland Adult Education to Receive Funding to Expand Programs Announces Governor

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Governor Janet T. Mills (D) Announces Grant Awards Totaling $12.3 Million Yeterday in Lewiston. (Photo Provided by Mills Office).

PORTLAND ADULT EDUCATION is one of the fourteen (14) organizations across the state to receive funding to expand apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships according to an  announcement by Governor Janet T. Mills (D) yesterday. The $12.3 million grant awards are part of her Administrations effort to strengthen Maine’s workforce through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.  The funding is expected to provide more than 3,000 Maine people with new apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship opportunities, more than doubling the number of Maine’s current apprentices.  “…Portland Adult Education will focus on providing opportunities for non-native English speakers,” according to the press release issued yesterday by the Governor’s office.

The Governor made the announcement at the Lewiston Adult Education, one of the grant receipients and was joined by other awardees who welcomed the funding as an opportunity to strengthen Maine’s workforce and train more workers for meaningful, good-paying careers.

The fourteen (14) organizations awarded funds will partner with the Maine Department of Labors’ Registered Apprenticeship Program to expand or develop new programs.  In total, the fourteen (14) organizations are expected to create new training and work opportunities for more than 1,000 new apprentices and 2,000 new pre-apprentices, more than doubling Maine’s current total of 1,175 apprentices.  The funding is also expected to add mroe than 150 new employer sponsors to Maine’ current total of 121 registered sponsors.

“Apprenticeships are a win for our workers, our employers and our economy, providing on-the-job training that results in a stable workforce with good-paying jobs and a stronger more divere economy,” said Governor Janet Mills, (D), the first woman Governor of Maine and its first woman Attorney General.  “These funds will allow organizations across Maine to expand or create new apprenticeship opportunities and more than double the number of apprentices, helping to get more people – especially young folks – into new, exciting fields that can provide a good paycheck and strengthen our economy,” she concluded in the press release.