Provide more certificate level programming for direct care workers in healthcare. Employers are under pressure to bring employees along because of new state mandates

Incorporate regional needs/strengths into colleges’ business programs. (For example, in Piscataquis County this might mean a focus on the creative economy because of the presence and growth of the Maine Highlands Guild.)

Retain the independence/autonomy of the colleges’ off-campus centers.

Build more bridges with high school.

Be flexible with training resources for those who become dislocated.

Partner more with adult education.

Focus on workforce needs of all of healthcare, including the business of health care (nursing home administration, home health, etc.), not just nursing.

Offer grant writing seminars.

Need for services to help students identify what they want to do earlier in life.

Expand centers and perhaps even add dormitories—could serve as an economic engine to drive people toward rural areas.

More programming to engage senior populations (similar to senior colleges)—a good opportunity to connect people to your college for ongoing support.

Establish internships and coop experiences to entice young people into the trades and into business.

Offer sales training, with an emphasis on customer service.

Provide early college planning to parents to ensure that higher education is on their radar.

Consider classes/seminars for parents who have not gone to college in order to help them engage their children in higher education. Mentoring: engage families as a whole unit through early intervention.

Establish a bank of volunteers (retirees in particular) who could perhaps assist students with applying for federal financial aid, etc.

Use retirees as teachers.

KVCC needs dormitories to attract students from away.

Provide training in life skills: how to interview, how to write a business letter and resume.

Consider a certificate program for opticians.

Consider a statewide, comprehensive on-line resource (for adults and youth) that would show career clusters, with links to education and career resources so people can understand what the demand and requirements are for workers in a particular area.

Work more closely with guidance counselors to raise aspirations and knowledge of what the community colleges have to offer and of what sectors of the economy are most in need of skilled workers. Help connect industry to high school schools.

Sponsor a community college bus tour for guidance counselors and educators to learn more about local colleges and businesses.

Consider “seed” money for establishing new programs in order to be more responsive to a region’s needs.

Need medical laboratory program.

Need a community college in the mid-coast.

Increase community events on campus, makes people more comfortable with the idea of being on a college campus.

Expand summer programming to bring more young people to the college campuses and expose them to what the colleges have to offer.

Partner more with vocational centers at the high school.

Design curriculum to meet local needs. Entry level labor needs.

Independents feel plumbing is a dying trade. We need to do more to support the industry.