Groups to offer retraining for displaced Eastern workers

Retraining opportunities are expected to be available in March for the 750 workers displaced in January by the closing of Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp.’s mills in Brewer and Lincoln.

Eastern Maine Community College and the Katahdin Region Higher Education Center will start an 11-week semester in March that will end in late May, according to KRHEC director Deb Rountree. Adult education courses, specified technical training and general education courses toward a degree program are expected to be among the offerings, Rountree said.

For the former Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. workers, KRHEC faculty plan to offer courses in the Lincoln area, with Mattanawcook Academy and the Region III vocational school as potential locations, Rountree said.

Some courses likely would be offered at the KRHEC campus in East Millinocket, she said.

EMCC is planning to offer similar courses in the Brewer area for the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. workers, she said.

Just like the Great Northern Paper shutdown of its mills in East Millinocket and Millinocket last January, the push is to have former employees back to work as soon as possible, Rountree said.

“The principle behind this is that their unemployment has started ticking away,” Rountree said Monday. “If they have to wait until May, that’s five months of unemployment they’ve eaten up before they can start training.”

Representatives from KRHEC, EMCC, Northern Maine Community College and the University of Maine System are meeting today to work out the details of the coursework, Rountree said.

Those interested in retraining through KRHEC or EMCC must first go through a screening process and assessment of job skills by representatives from the Training and Development Corp., Rountree said. The Career Centers based in Bangor and at the KRHEC facility will handle the assessments and also can assist in writing resumes, job searches and helping to transfer previous work experience into college credits, Rountree said.

KRHEC also offers the benefit of a peer group that is already working through the same transition, Rountree said. Hundreds of workers laid off from GNP last year are in the process of retraining at the center, she said, and could be instrumental in helping anyone get over the initial fear of enrolling in courses.

“We have many people that would be willing to serve as mentors and say, ‘Life is not over,'” Rountree said. “This is an opportunity for growth and change.”

Lincoln-area millworkers interested in retraining can begin the process today by calling KRHEC at 746-5741 to schedule an appointment for an assessment at the East Millinocket location, she said. Millworkers in the Brewer area can schedule an assessment by calling the TDC office in Bangor at 945-9431.