Maine is Information Technology (Maine is IT!)

Main is Information Technology (Maine is IT!) consisting of 16 Colleges, received a $13,072,735 Round Three grant award to address growing needs for skilled IT workers and, simultaneously, to address the large number of TAA-impacted workers. As described in the grant application, 12,000 manufacturing jobs were lost between 2001 and 2005 across the state of Maine, as the already steady decline in manufacturing jobs across the state had continued. This loss of employment has affected each region of the state and presents unique opportunities for each of the consortium institutions to impact employment outcomes in their region. Since the 1950s, blue-collar industrial jobs have declined from comprising more than half of the workforce to making up less than one-quarter of jobs. Conversely, managerial, professional, and technical jobs have increased from one-fifth to nearly one-third of jobs across the state. By 2018, 59% of all jobs in Maine are expected to require some post-secondary training.