An expanded teacher apprenticeship program – designed to bolster Maine’s education workforce and attract more people into the profession – is under construction by Educate Maine.
The program is supported by a new $1.4 million grant from the state Department of Labor through federal dollars allocated to Maine this year. The Teach Maine Center and Maine Career Catalyst, both programs of Educate Maine, will co-design and manage the work for the next 36 months. Educate Maine, in partnership with the state DOL, currently supports more than 20 registered apprenticeships and seven pre-apprenticeships in the state, in fields including financial services, healthcare, aquaculture, building trades, life sciences, and cosmetology.
“We know that apprenticeships are excellent pathways to meaningful careers and foundational to building a robust workforce in Maine,” said Jason Judd, Ed.D ., Executive Director of Educate Maine. “The teaching profession is no different, and we want to foster similar pathways as we seek to recruit more highly trained teachers and bolster the current education workforce.”
According to apprenticeship.gov, a federal website, teaching apprenticeships are underway in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In 2024, there were nearly 13,000 registered apprentices in the education sector nationwide, a significant increase over the last five years. With the new grant, Maine joins the rest of the New England states in fully expanding and implementing a statewide registered teaching apprenticeship program, but this is not the first or only education workforce apprenticeship in the Pine Tree State.
The programs currently on the books include apprenticeship pathways operated by: Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network; Washington County Community College; York County Community College; Gorham School District; Brunswick School Department; MSAD1; RSU34 and Maine Health.
Educate Maine’s Educator Workforce Report, published last year, showed that Maine’s teaching workforce – numbering about 14,000 – is aging and old by national standards, that rural districts have the oldest teachers, and that enrollment in the state’s 15 approved teacher preparation programs is declining. As the state’s most experienced teachers get set to retire, a paid, fully benefitted teaching apprenticeship pathway is seen as critical to recruiting and retaining teachers in the state.
The Teach Maine Center, built for and by teachers, supports new talent pipelines including apprenticeships, new certification policies, and regional and national recruitment.
“We are thrilled to champion this apprenticeship program, which will broaden meaningful opportunities for individuals across Maine,” said Jodi Mezzanotte, Director of Educator Engagement for Educate Maine. “By opening alternative, experience-based pathways, we can help people launch rewarding teaching careers while meeting our state’s evolving workforce needs.”
To fully build out the teaching apprenticeship, Educate Maine will work with 20 school districts, support five new pre-apprenticeship programs, and collaborate with partners in higher education.
