Watch: Business Series: Community college responds to workforce demand

In the last three years, the Maine Community College System short-term training program has increased 600 percent, reflecting a growing demand for skilled workers and the system’s increased flexibility to meet those demands from Maine’s business community. Managers from health care, hospitality, skilled manufacturing, construction and other industries have tapped MCCS resources. Is there an opportunity for your business?

Join moderator Carol Coultas and system President David Daigler, and Dan Belyea, who heads up the system’s short-term workforce training programs, and Christine Kendall, owner of H.E. Callahan Construction, to explore how the system is responding to workforce demands.

About the panel:

David Daigler is president of the Maine Community College System (MCCS) and previously served as the system’s chief financial officer from 2003-2019 and vice president from 2015-2019. As president, Daigler has greatly expanded workforce training programs through a historic $60 million public-private partnership, increased investments in key academic programs, overseen the launch of a free community college campaign, led a COVID response that deepened ties to state and local government and medical institutions statewide, and increased financial and educational supports for the 29,000 students the system serves every year. Daigler is chair of the Finance Authority of Maine.

Dan Belyea is the chief workforce development officer at the Maine Community College System (MCCS) and manages $62 million in short-term training funding through the new Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce. Belyea has worked for MCCS for 33 years and currently serves on the State Workforce Board, is a member of the Maine Technology Institute, and serves as a public member on the Grievance Commission with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. He was recently appointed to the Board of Visitors and Chair for the Long Creek Development Center with the Maine Department of Corrections, The Maine Connectivity Authority Board, and the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services Board.

Christine Kendall acquired H.E. Callahan Construction Co. in 2015, making it one of the largest female-owned businesses in Maine. Active on the Executive Board of the Association of General Contractors, Christine is engaged in Workforce Development and the changing Contractor requirements within the State of Maine. Through her career she’s been involved in several iconic projects that helped form the state. The construction of the Alfond Center for Health, the Redevelopment of the old Augusta and Waterville Hospitals to name a few. Her experience working with development teams gives her an understanding of project viability prior to commitment. In 2021 she started an Architectural Firm to offer turnkey services to H.E. Callahan Construction clients who approached her with a concept to execute. This gives the team the ability to take a project from concept through construction seamlessly, improving the experience for the end user. Christine has 28 years of construction experience and a particular expertise with contracting delivery methods.