Loring Job Corps Center-
Limestone, ME
by Dennis McCartney
Business Director, United Veterans of Maine
The Job Corps is probably the institution most under
rated by the general public, in the whole Aroostook
County region. Contrary to old images of being a
place for “troubled youths” the modern Loring Job
Corps Center is a well run institution where up to
301 students can live and get an education not only in
“book learning” but also in a skill that will allow them
to earn a solid living as they go forward in life. One
other important aspect of the what the Job Corps
does is that it teaches students social skills to prepare
them for a normal life. A great story about current
events at the Loring Job Corps is that in 2016/17
three students who had completed their high school
education were taking carpentry to learn a trade. As
part of this training these young men were sent to
Aroostook Truss Company to train as interns. Their
work was so good that they were offered full time jobs
at the company after they graduated and the company
also found them a place to live. Here’s the best part of
the story: these young men were not from Northern
Maine. They are now and it’s a great to have them here
and we can thank a forward thinking company like
Aroostook Truss for allowing interns to work there. It
speaks to the character of the owners of the company
and we are proud to share this story. A couple more
notes about the Job Corps. It employs people from
the region who train students in skills that can be
used right here in the County so it’s an important
regional employer. The Loring Job Corps, under its
current management, has improved its ranking over
the past 20 years in the 125 Job Corp centers in the
USA from #108 to 60 to 40 over the past 20 years to
#19 this year. It earned that distinction by following
a policy of Continuous Improvement in its practices
and of particular note by following its students after
graduation. The Loring Job Corp takes keeping track
of its graduates seriously and does it better than a
majority of the centers in the country.
Furthermore, the Job Corps is open to all young people
up to 24 yrs old and is open to veterans of all ages that
are 30% or more disabled. After being at war for over
16 years in the Middle East there are a large number
of veterans who went straight into the military after
high school who need a trade to earn a decent living.
The United Veterans of Maine (UVOM) is working
with the US Department of Labor to get veterans of
all ages into Job Corps. Many current members of
the military enlisted right after high school and didn’t
have time to learn a “civilian skill”. The Job Corps
education, skill training, room and board are free and
provide a solid foundation for young people to get
ready for the real world where they can find work in
a useful trade and even continue their education at
one of the educational institutions in place now like
the Northern Maine Community College or the
campuses of University of Maine in Presque Isle and
Fort Kent.. At UVOM we are working on a campaign
to keep these students here in Aroostook County as
part of our campaign to repopulate the region and
are strongly recommending the Loring Job Corps as a
choice for returning veterans up to 24 and hopefully
veterans of all ages in the future.
WINTER 2018
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