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Workforce Development PDF Print E-mail


Since 1977, CEI has been involved in workforce development. Initially these national demonstration projects were funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Ford Foundation, and utilized the strategy of stimulating the creation of jobs by investing in Maine's entrepreneurs. While we now have other funders, we continue this tradition. Dedicated to the employment issues of people with low incomes and those at risk of poverty, CEI has developed a model to make sure that people with low incomes get access to those jobs.

This model involves four strategies linked below:

  1. Act as a workforce intermediary for CEI-financed businesses
  2. Implement Employment Training Agreements, a "social compact" between private business and CEI's public goals, and the keystone of CEI's workforce development strategy
  3. Implement Welfare-to-Work and Retraining Initiatives and
  4. Provide human resources support to the businesses with whom we work.
 
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CEI IN THE NEWS!

U.S. Finance Expert Encourages Banking Investment in Maine Communities
At CEI's 32nd Annual Meeting, Ellen Seidman, Exec. VP of ShoreBank in Chicago, and Sr. Research Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, urged Maine bankers and community activists to consider “greater community investment…meeting the actual needs of the community, not just counting dollars invested.” See full speech.

See annual meeting remarks by Ron Phillips, CEO, on triple bottom line investing and the next 5 years for CEI…

See the 12/14/09 article on CEI and the state of investing in communities. It’s where mission happens…

CEI Receives $125 Million in NMTC  Through its subsidiary, CEI Capital Management LLC, CEI will use the allocation to attract private capital investments for primarily rural economic development projects. See press release here.

CEI Receives Investment Funds
In partnership with Manufacturers Association of Maine, CEI will receive $765,000 over from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), to finance several job-generating small-to-medium enterprises. This funding will create 78 full-time, year-round jobs.  Read press release here. 

Bangor Savings Bank and CEI offer low-interest loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in disadvantaged areas in Maine. Read more here.
Kennebec and Somerset Counties

In Kennebec and Somerset Counties, CEI has been involved with two major federally-funded projects that have leveraged workforce and economic development resources and resulted in new jobs, improved child care and small businesses in these economically fragile rural communities.

Under CEI's leadership, with support from the Department of Labor, PACT (Progressive Alliance for Careers and Training) developed a comprehensive approach to workforce retraining that trained 130 dislocated workers and nearly 250 incumbent workers in the health care, manufacturing, and information technology industries. Through the Kennebec/Somerset ACCESS Early Learning Opportunities Grant, CEI has been a partner in a collaborative that aims to improve the quality and quantity of child care throughout the two counties.
36 Water Street, PO Box 268, Wiscasset, ME 04578; Telephone: 207/882-7552; FAX: 207/882-7308; E-mail: cei@ceimaine.org