Map to Success:
Identifying Job Opportunities and Career Pathways
MAINE
Job Shortages
Immigration in Maine
Potential Career Advancement
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MAP TO SUCCESS: IDENTIFYING JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER PATHWAYS
Immigration in Maine
The following are facts about the immigrant community in Maine
Immigrants comprise roughly 3.4% of the state population and 3.7% of the Maine labor force
Top industries of immigrant employment:
o Health Care and Social Assistance 5,125
o Educational Services 3,748
o Retail Trade 3,249
o Accommodation and Food Services 3,152
o Manufacturing 2,346
2,245 immigrant business owners accounted for 2.2% of all self-employed Maine residents
Over 25,000 immigrants in Maine are naturalized and another 8% (fewer than 5,000) are
undocumented
Top foreign-born countries of origin:
o Canada, 21.8%
o Philippines, 7.9%
o England, 5%
o India, 4.7 %
o Mexico, 4.2%
About 8.5% of native-born Mainers are children of an immigrant
Educational attainment of foreign born adults in Maine:
o Low skill – 39.5%
o Middle skill – 19.9%
o High Skills – 40.7%
Share of Brain Waste* - 20%
* Share of immigrant professionals, who are unemployed, employed at poverty-level wages in low-skill
jobs, or significantly underemployed in semi-skilled jobs
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MAP TO SUCCESS: IDENTIFYING JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER PATHWAYS
Job Shortages
Rank Occupation
Average Annual
Job Openings
2016-2026
Median Hourly Wage*
Typical Skill
Level Required
**
Typical Entry
Education Required
State Licensing Required
Potential Career
Advancement with License
or Certification
1. Cashiers 2,830 $10.67 Low No formal education
No No
2. Retail
Salesperson 2,830 $11.72 Low
No formal education
No No
3. Waiters and Waitresses
2,330 $10.38 Low No formal education
No Yes
4. Personal Care
Aides 2,220 $11.85 Low
High School diploma or equivalent
Yes Yes
5. Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers
2,030 $10.09 Low No formal education
No Yes
6. Janitors and
Cleaners 1,500 $13.64 Low
No formal education
No No
7. Customer
Service Representative
1,410 $15.70 Low High school diploma or equivalent
No No
8. Food
Preparation Workers
1,210 $11.48 Low No Formal Education
No Yes
9. Office Clerks,
General 1,170 $16.04 Low
High School diploma or equivalent
No No
10. Nursing
Assistant 1,130 $13.63 Middle
Postsecondary non-degree
award Yes Yes
*Maine Hourly Minimum Wage is $11 (Jan 2019)
** Skill level: Low – High school (HS) diploma or equivalent or less; Middle – More than HS diploma but less than bachelor’s
degree; High – Bachelor’s degree or higher
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Potential Career Advancement with License or Certification
Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers
Job Description Perform duties which combine preparing and serving food and nonalcoholic beverages
Licensing/Certification Requirements Food Handler Certification – Maine law does not require food preparation and serving workers
to obtain a food handler certification. However, some employers may prefer or require it
o Certification generally requires:
Training – approximately 2 hours
Exam – not required by law, but some training programs may require it
Fee – approximate cost of an online training program is $7.00
Alcohol Seller and Server Training – Maine law does not require alcohol sellers or servers to
obtain this training but it can be considered as a condition for receiving a liquor license
o Certification generally requires:
Training – approximately 3 hours
Exam –
Fee – approximate cost of an online training program is $18.00
o Must be 17 years of age or older
o Affidavit required. Retail licensees shall require a person applying for employment as a
retail employee to furnish to the licensee an affidavit stating that the applicant has not
been convicted of a first offense of violating section 2078 or section 2081, subsection 1,
paragraph A or B, within 2 years of the date of the affidavit.
o A retail licensee may not employ a person as a retail employee if that person, within 2
years of the date of that person's application for employment, has been convicted of a
first offense of violating section 2078 or section 2081, subsection 1, paragraph A or B.
o A retail licensee may not employ a person as a retail employee if that person, within 5
years of the date of that person's application for employment, has been convicted of a
2nd offense of violating section 2078 or section 2081, subsection 1, paragraph A or B.
For Immigrants Requirements for immigrants are the same as native-born residents
Online training for Food Handler Certificate is also offered in foreign languages:
o 360training.com, Inc. – Spanish
o AboveTraining/StateFoodSafety.com – Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Serbo-
Croatian, Tagalog and American Sign Language
o eFoodHandlers Inc. – Spanish
o Food Safety Educators – Spanish
o National Registry of Food Safety Professionals® – Spanish
o National Restaurant Association – Spanish and Simplified Chinese
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MAP TO SUCCESS: IDENTIFYING JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER PATHWAYS
Valid Driver’s License or State Identification Number Required to obtain Alcohol Seller/Server
Certificate
Useful Resources American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited food handler online training
programs
Maine Liquor Liability Act
Potential Career Advancement:
Certified Food Protection Manager
Description The responsibilities include training and implementing a program of food protection and
education to be able to demonstrate knowledge required by the Maine Food Code.
Obtaining a Food Manager Certification may lead to a promotion or raise
Licensing/Certification Requirements Maine law does not require a qualified food operator to obtain a certification as a food
protection manager, but a certification may be used to demonstrate knowledge of food safety
rules and regulations to food safety inspectors, and may be required or preferred by employers.
Qualified food operator exam programs are those that have been approved by the Maine
Department of Health
o A Food Protection Manager certification generally requires:
Training – an online course takes approximately 8 hours (not required for
certification)
Exam – required
Fee – approximate costs of course and exam is $150 (exam only: $35)
Renewal – every 5 years
For Immigrants Requirements for immigrants are the same as native-born residents
Exam and training may be offered in a foreign language (For more information see the following
section)
Useful Resources Certified Food Protection Manager Requirements
Approved Exams that meet the State of Maine’s Requirements for Certification
o ServSafe® – Exam offered online in Spanish, English, and Chinese
o National Registry of Food Safety Professionals – Exam offered in English and Spanish
o Prometric – Only available in English
o 360training.com – Training offered in English and Spanish
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o StateFoodSafety.com – Only available in English
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Sources
Immigration in Maine
American Immigration Council, “Immigrants in Maine”, State by State Fact Sheet, October 13, 2017;
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-maine
Job Shortages
Projections Managing Partnership (PMP), Projections Central – State Occupational Projections, “Long
Term Occupational Projection (2016-2026)”; http://www.projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm
***2016-2026 statistics are not comparable to previous long term employment projections due to
modification of U.S. Bureau of Labor’s methodology
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2017 State Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimates (Connecticut); https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ct.htm
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, “Education and
training assignments by detailed occupation,” 2016; https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/education-and-
training-by-occupation.htm
National Council of State Legislatures, “State Minimum Wages”, January 2018;
http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx#Table
Potential Career Advancement
Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, Department of Administrative and
Financial Services, “The Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages is now offering on-line Seller/Server Training”;
https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bablo/sites/maine.gov.dafs.bablo/files/inline-files/Agent-Flyer_0.pdf
Maine Bureau of Alcohol Beverages and Lottery Operations, “Alcohol Seller and Server Certification”;
https://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/trainsellserve/main.cgi
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, An Office of the Department of Health and Human
Services, “HEALTH INSPECTION PROGRAM CERTIFIED FOOD PROTECTION MANAGER REQUIREMENTS”
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maine.gov%2Fdhhs%2Fmec
dc%2Fenvironmental-health%2Fel%2Fsite-files%2Fhandouts%2Fcertified-food-protection-manager-
handout.doc
Maine Legislature Maine Revised Statutes, “Title 28-A, Chapter 100: MAINE LIQUOR LIABILITY ACT”;
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/28-A/title28-Asec2519.html
Maine.gov Division of Environmental and Community Health, Health Inspection Program, “Contacts for
Certified Food Protection Manager Course”; https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-
health/el/site-files/miscellaneous/CFPM%20Courses%202018.pdf
O*Net Database, “Summary Report for: 35-3021.00 - Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers,
Including Fast Food”; https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/35-3021.00
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Portland Public Health Division, Food Handler’s Manual, “A Guide to Safe and Healthy Food Handling for
Food Service Establishments”; http://portlandmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6072/Food-Handler-
Guide-?bidId
Servsafe, National Restaurant Association, “Manager Online Training and Certification Exams”;
https://www.servsafe.com/access/ss/Catalog/ProductList/10