Cianbro, a Maine construction company, presented its new workforce development center in Pittsfield Aug. 17, as Gov. Paul LePage toured the facility with other industry leaders, WABI reported.

Cianbro decided to open the Cianbro Institute in response to the construction industry's aging workforce and the demand for greater workforce development.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the construction industry will likely grow more quickly than any other and is set to add more than 700,000 jobs over the next 10 years. But there need to be trained workers ready to fill those positions.

"We have an industry that's growing," said Don Whyte, president and CEO of The National Center for Construction Education and Research. "That's good. But we have a pipeline that sees fewer young people coming into it," WABI reported.

According to Cianbro Leader Pete Vigue, "This facility creates an innovative and collaborative educational environment. Every one of our instructors is certified and they passionately deliver more than 75 different developmental programs to our team members using multiple delivery methods, which obviously includes hands-on-education training."

"We're not only building building projects in this organization and this company, we are creating and building people who have integrity, character and skill," Vigue continued.

Along with classrooms, the facility houses labs and simulated work environments designed for students to "learn and earn" simultaneously, WABI reported.

Gov. LePage remarked that he felt the facility is good for the state, and will help to lower the age of Maine's construction workers. "That's exactly what we expect with this entity right here — to be the leader in developing craftsmen for the future."

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