Tony Payne, a lifetime political and civic activist, is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Maine's Future. He has over 30 years experience in Maine's business community including service as Vice President of Underwriting & Marketing for Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company as well as the New England Region Vice President for Communications at OneBeacon Insurance. In addition, he was President of Maine Media, Inc. and has been honored with the Edward L. Bernays Award for lifetime achievements by the Maine Public Relations Council. He currently serves on the Town Council in Falmouth where he and his wife are raising three sons.
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New metric for higher ed: a job in Maine
Nov 20, 2009 04:18 PM
Categories: Economy, Government at Work
Among the priorities of Maine's state universities and community colleges are
- increasing the percentage of high school students who pursue a degree from higher education
- increasing the number of students who complete a degree as well as the speed with which they can complete their programs
Keeping students enrolled and getting a diploma in their hand are essential. On these metrics, Maine needs to do much better.
But there is another metric of even greater importance - a job in Maine - jobs with real career opportunities. A study released in 2006 entitled "Maine's College Graduates: Where they go and why" showed that:
- about 60% of college-bound high school graduates get their college degree in Maine, but half leave Maine after graduation for better career opportunities
- though a majority of those considered "the best & brightest" (defined as high school students with As and Bs and whose parents attended college) earned their college degree in Maine, two-thirds leave the state and do not return
- two-thirds of Maine graduates working in business or technology live and work some place other than Maine
The not-so-subtle conclusion is that Maine college graduates with ambition for high-paying careers leave the state while those in the helping professions (e.g. health care, education, government, public agencies) tend to stay. We need to keep and attract more of the risk-takers (entrepreneurs) if we are to grow the economy.
So, what can businesses and our universities and colleges do to retain more of our most talented graduates in which everyone has so heavily invested family savings and public tax dollars?
Internships. Good old fashioned on-the-job learning opportunities.
There is only so much control our academic institutions can have on the outcomes of their students but business internships in collaboration with community colleges and the university campuses can measurably improve the prospects for career employment and graduate retention in Maine.
Internships are more than simply a good idea - they are imperative. Maine is not replacing it's aging workforce. Presently, our state has the next to lowest percentage of children under the age of 18 in the entire country (23%) and the second highest percentage of residents over the age of 65 (32%). Today, students are our most valuable export.
There are approximately 36,000 employers in the state of Maine. No matter what their enterprise, a majority of employers could find a way to put a student to work improving the bottom line of the enterprise while the intern learns a work ethic and valuable technical skills. It takes planning and commitment from both employer and student but the prospect of a full-time job is well worth the effort.
Internships can be paid or unpaid and often offer students academic credits. Committed students will earn valuable job references and build resumes - something most lack when they step off the graduation ceremony platform.
This opportunity does not require any government aid or regulatory legislation. What would be helpful is to have a majority of the Maine Legislature create a more business-friendly climate so that companies are encouraged to grow, create jobs that pay higher wages and offer long-term careers.
We urge all our readers to engage interns in their places of business by calling your nearest community college or university campus. You may discover the next high performer in your workplace and help turn Maine's most valuable export into an engine of organic growth. (click on the links in "Connect to Higher Education" in the box below to contact a college or university near you)
Good News in Old Town
According to a story in the Bangor Daily News, one of Maine's internationally recognized brands got a boost from the parent company - 80 new jobs at Old Town Canoe. The choice to consolidate operations was based on Old Town's tax incentives, the Old Town name and the highly skilled workforce that produces both canoes and kyaks. This is a good example of what can happen when you combine skill sets in value-added manufacturing. Let's hope that candidates for state office see this as an example and avoid legislation that would discourage this kind of high-value enterprise.
Tony Payne
Executive Director
Alliance for Maine's Future
www.changeformaine.com
- increasing the percentage of high school students who pursue a degree from higher education
- increasing the number of students who complete a degree as well as the speed with which they can complete their programs
Keeping students enrolled and getting a diploma in their hand are essential. On these metrics, Maine needs to do much better.
But there is another metric of even greater importance - a job in Maine - jobs with real career opportunities. A study released in 2006 entitled "Maine's College Graduates: Where they go and why" showed that:
- about 60% of college-bound high school graduates get their college degree in Maine, but half leave Maine after graduation for better career opportunities
- though a majority of those considered "the best & brightest" (defined as high school students with As and Bs and whose parents attended college) earned their college degree in Maine, two-thirds leave the state and do not return
- two-thirds of Maine graduates working in business or technology live and work some place other than Maine
The not-so-subtle conclusion is that Maine college graduates with ambition for high-paying careers leave the state while those in the helping professions (e.g. health care, education, government, public agencies) tend to stay. We need to keep and attract more of the risk-takers (entrepreneurs) if we are to grow the economy.
So, what can businesses and our universities and colleges do to retain more of our most talented graduates in which everyone has so heavily invested family savings and public tax dollars?
Internships. Good old fashioned on-the-job learning opportunities.
There is only so much control our academic institutions can have on the outcomes of their students but business internships in collaboration with community colleges and the university campuses can measurably improve the prospects for career employment and graduate retention in Maine.
Internships are more than simply a good idea - they are imperative. Maine is not replacing it's aging workforce. Presently, our state has the next to lowest percentage of children under the age of 18 in the entire country (23%) and the second highest percentage of residents over the age of 65 (32%). Today, students are our most valuable export.
There are approximately 36,000 employers in the state of Maine. No matter what their enterprise, a majority of employers could find a way to put a student to work improving the bottom line of the enterprise while the intern learns a work ethic and valuable technical skills. It takes planning and commitment from both employer and student but the prospect of a full-time job is well worth the effort.
Internships can be paid or unpaid and often offer students academic credits. Committed students will earn valuable job references and build resumes - something most lack when they step off the graduation ceremony platform.
This opportunity does not require any government aid or regulatory legislation. What would be helpful is to have a majority of the Maine Legislature create a more business-friendly climate so that companies are encouraged to grow, create jobs that pay higher wages and offer long-term careers.
We urge all our readers to engage interns in their places of business by calling your nearest community college or university campus. You may discover the next high performer in your workplace and help turn Maine's most valuable export into an engine of organic growth. (click on the links in "Connect to Higher Education" in the box below to contact a college or university near you)
Good News in Old Town
According to a story in the Bangor Daily News, one of Maine's internationally recognized brands got a boost from the parent company - 80 new jobs at Old Town Canoe. The choice to consolidate operations was based on Old Town's tax incentives, the Old Town name and the highly skilled workforce that produces both canoes and kyaks. This is a good example of what can happen when you combine skill sets in value-added manufacturing. Let's hope that candidates for state office see this as an example and avoid legislation that would discourage this kind of high-value enterprise.
Tony Payne
Executive Director
Alliance for Maine's Future
www.changeformaine.com
ewv says,
But if an "intern learns a work ethic and valuable technical skills" he will have the same incentive as any successful university graduate to leave Maine. Get government controls and taxes off the backs of the people and we will see the private sector, i.e. a real economy, will take care of itself because that's what reasonable people do once they are allowed to. Meanwhile, the use of interns or any other idea, no matter how good under normal circumstances, must remain secondary to whether or not we have a civilized society or a brutal third-world government and economy. Many of us who have suffered such incredible abuse from state agencies -- like the gestapo at Maine Revenue Services -- are minimizing all financial entanglement with Maine. We are hoping, perhaps futilely, that sometime after the current regime of state-sponsored thugs in Augusta is out of power that we may then have government that protects the rights and freedom of decent people instead of trashing them. Until then expect any knowledgeable recent graduate, intern, or responsible employer to get out of Maine as fast as he can or at least minimize his exposure.
Nov 24, 2009 02:00 AM
AMF says,
It's ALL about who you elect to serve us in Augusta. Get people with more private sector experience sitting the seats and you'll get a better outcome.
Nov 24, 2009 04:53 PM
ewv says,
In eastern Washington County we have good representatives. What can we do about the rest of them who are turning Maine into a third world police state?
It takes more than people "with private sector experience"; such a base of knowledge is necessary but not sufficient -- there are legislators with little or no such experience and who don't want it, and there are those who do have such private experience who still want to get rid of or suppress the private sector. Political philosophy matters -- there is ignorance and then there is deliberate evil.
Nov 26, 2009 01:06 AM
BangorBiz says,
I have taught college level classes for a few years, both at public and private universities. You can harp on college kids to get their act together and look for an internship but many lack the drive and initiative. Also, many students say they are tired of living in Maine and want to get out and explore. Some do come back to raise a family, but many do not.
Dec 1, 2009 04:25 PM
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