Sen. Daughtry introduces bill to improve and expand career and technical education in Maine

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, introduced a bill to improve and expand career and technical education opportunities for Maine students. LD 680, “Resolve, To Reestablish the Task Force To Study the Creation of a Comprehensive Career and Technical Education System,” was the subject of a public hearing for the Legislature’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.

“I hear time and time again from business owners who can’t find workers with the skills needed to complete the jobs of today and tomorrow. These important jobs like plumbing, electrical work and carpentry, need to be filled but we can’t find enough people with the skills to do them. I also hear from plenty of Mainers struggling to find good paying jobs that not only pay the bills, but also provide them with a rewarding career and good quality of life,” said Sen. Daughtry. “Each year we continue to lose young Mainers as they leave to pursue economic opportunities elsewhere. LD 680 helps us address these problems by supporting career and technical education.”

LD 680 would establish the Task Force To Study the Creation of a Comprehensive Career and Technical Education System. This 20-member task force would examine the feasibility, advantages and disadvantages of establishing a comprehensive four-year high school career and technical education program for Maine students, to help more Maine students find pathways to good-paying, local jobs. 

“Maine is the oldest state in the nation. With that distinction comes many challenges. We are facing the loss of qualified and skilled workers to retirement and few waiting in the wings to fill those roles. Today, manufacturers across the state have thousands of job vacancies with few applicants. These are good paying jobs,” said Jessica Laliberte, policy relations manager for Manufacturers Association of Maine, in testimony supporting the bill. “We need a strong and robust CTE program that shows students there is more than one pathway to a career.”

In speaking with local advocates, Sen. Daughtry learned a current study about the capacity of local career and technical programs that is slated to be finished in the spring of 2022. In light of this, she requested LD 680 be carried over into the next legislative session so that legislators may see the results of this study before further action.