The University of Maine at Farmington launches new initiative to help meet state’s need for outdoor recreation professionals
New England Council member, University of Maine Farmington (UMF), has partnered with Maine’s four-season outdoor recreation industry to develop a workforce development initiative to help meet Maine’s current and future needs for skilled outdoor recreation professionals. This partnership is part of a 10-year plan to grow Maine’s outdoor recreation economy from $3.3 billion in 2023 to $3.7 billion by 2035.
The new initiative is titled the “Western Maine Outdoor Recreation Hub of Excellence” and is anchored within the university’s existing Outdoor Recreation Business Administration (ORBA) program. The hub will work with industry leaders to recruit students and provide them with business knowledge, internship experience, and industry connections. The program has already received external grant funding to jump-start the initiative.
“The ORBA program is uniquely positioned to cultivate this next generation of industry leaders through collaborative partnerships that include high quality internship experiences and project-based learning opportunities integrated into the classroom… We are so fortunate in Maine to have the support of Gov. Mills and an invested community of outdoor partners who are committed to making this vision a reality,” said Austin French, UMF internship coordinator, project director for the new initiative and dedicated UMF ORBA alum.
The New England Council congratulates the University of Maine Farmington for this exciting new partnership.
Read more in the press release from UMF here and in Mainebiz here.