Talk of the Towns 10/11/23: Hometown Careers and Apprenticeships Linking Mainers with Jobs in Public Service

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves
Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording.

Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities

This month:
– Background on the work of Maine Municipal Association and the apprenticeship program of Maine Department of Labor
– With Maine municipalities facing a wave of retirements, what opportunities are there for folks new to the workforce and those with experience who might want to change careers?
– What is the range of jobs and careers within municipal government?
– What are some of the more traditional pathways into careers in municipal service?
– How does the Maine Apprenticeship Program work? Can you actually get paid while apprenticing in a job in your town government? What are the other advantages to participating in apprenticeships?

Guest/s:
Peter Osborne, Director of Educational Services, Maine Municipal Association
Rebecca Dansereau, Career Center Consultant, Maine Apprenticeship Program, Maine Department of Labor

FMI:
www.mainehometowncareers.org
www.mainehometowncareers.org/videos.php
www.maine.gov/labor/jobs_training/apprenticeship/

About the hosts:

Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.