Notes from APP and NMDC

Volume 2, Issue 84

Feb. 14, 2013

In This Issue

Opportunities Aroostook

Education to Industry

"Opportunities Aroostook" receives first donation

AROOSTOOK COUNTY - An ambitious project to help grow the 18- to -44-year-old population in the region through a social media campaign, job-posting website and workforce development efforts has received its first corporate donation. Pines Health Services has donated $2,000 to LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development and the "Opportunities Aroostook" initiative.

Pines Health Services Executive Director Jim Davis presents a $2,000 check to LEAD Executive Director Ryan Pelletier for the "Opportunities Aroostook" campaign.

"This contribution will provide LEAD with the seed money it needs to kick off our campaign to grow Opportunities Aroostook," said LEAD Executive Director Ryan Pelletier. "Our goal is to raise the necessary funding, working with our business community, to create a state of the art presence on the web to entice job seekers and employers to post resumes, job announcements, etc. and be a resource that guides people back home."

The LEAD Executive Board approved matching funds donated up to $5,000.

In the first step of the project, a paid intern will create social media sites, which will highlight jobs, events, quality of life and other reasons to locate or return to Aroostook County.

"We hope to engage alumni associations, local media and others to spread the reach of the social media efforts," added Pelletier.

Once the social media component grows a more formal jobs website, created by Northern Maine Media in Houlton, will go online.

"Opportunities Aroostook" grew out of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) Education to Industry initiative, which looks to connect high school and college students with emerging jobs in The County, but even if the region retained every student projections indicate there still wouldn't be a large enough workforce to meet needs.

"I think this is, if done correctly and used by the business community, this is a tremendous potential for getting the word out and attracting folks back here," said APP President Bob Dorsey. "Also the social media component will help keep the younger generation informed of what the opportunities are."

Pelletier said this effort is still in its initial stages and fundraising has just started, but early indications are the business community is willing to support "Opportunities Aroostook."

"I think many County businesses are starting to realize finding quality employees will be a challenge in the future," he said.

For more information, contact Ryan Pelletier at rpelletier@nmdc.org or by phone at 493-8306.

Junior Achievement continues to grow in

The County

Mike Eisensmith, of NMDC, mentors a Titan Challenge Team from Fort Fairfield High School. The team members are, from left, Jon Bernard, Carter Bruce and Seth Woodman.

PRESQUE ISLE - The Junior Achievement program in Aroostook County continues to grow as evidenced by a record number of high school students who took part in the Titan Challenge this week at the University of Maine Presque Isle.

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.

The Titan Challenge, which is an internet based simulation designed to introduce high school juniors to business, has grown in Aroostook County from 15 teams last year to 28 this year, from schools from the St. John Valley to Houlton. The competition is designed to unleash creativity, test leadership and demonstrate the competitive nature of the free enterprise system in a global marketplace.
"Junior Achievement's main goal is to get students and business people to interact," said Mark Wilcox of Dead River Company and chair of the Aroostook County area Junior Achievement Board. "The game itself is important because it is as real life as a simulation can be. You make tough decisions and you take risks just like you do in business and that is as real as it gets."

A big component of the competition is the pairing of the students with a business mentor. Bob Dorsey of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) and Mike Eisensmith of Northern Maine Development Commission served as mentors this year. In fact, the expansion of Junior Achievement in Aroostook County is a goal of the APP "Education to Industry" initiative.

"Junior Achievement has grown in the St. John Valley and Houlton area," added Wilcox. "The involvement of APP has been a big, big help."

The Titan Challenge is a statewide event and the Aroostook County site had the second largest attendance and Wilcox also noted that the Grand Prize winners came from The County. The Caribou Vikings 1 team of Ben Ezzy, Delaney William and Elijah Verhoff won the Grand Prize of $1,000 scholarships.

"We [APP] got involved in Junior Achievement because we wanted to increase awareness of the emerging jobs, the trends and fact that a lot of people are retiring," said Dorsey. "We thought by being involved in JA that gives us an opportunity to get the word out about potential jobs in the region to junior high and high school students."

Dorsey is pleased with the growth in the Junior Achievement movement in The County. He said the "Education to Industry" initiative will continue its work with JA, but this year, also focus on job exposure, which is job shadowing, internships and tours of companies for students.

"To do that effectively we need to engage businesses and get schools on board to participate," he added.

For more information on Junior Achievement, contact Wilcox at Dead River Company in Presque Isle.

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