Peer Workforce Navigator: Jobs, Education & Training Opportunities

We connect community members to good, quality jobs and education and training opportunities to promote career advancement and economic security.

We believe that every worker deserves a job that lets them work; that lets them be successful, safe, healthy, and respected. Too many people feel forced into jobs that provide poor pay, hard hours, limited growth potential, and safety concerns. Many are asked to give up on dreams or passions and to instead settle for the first thing that comes along. 

We want to hear from you about your career goals and dreams, and how we might be able to support your journey to get there. There are new opportunities for education and training across the State, and we can share resources to help you build and reinforce different skills, experiences, and credentials that are relevant to the work you want to do.

We can help:

• participate in a career fair, connect to relevant job opportunities, prepare for job applications or interviews; 
• identify and help register for education and training opportunities and financial support that can make school possible; and 
• share information about apprenticeships and help you apply for one. 

We support community members to navigate Unemployment Insurance and get the benefits they deserve in critical times.

Click here for information about how to apply for Unemployment.

The pandemic highlighted the importance of unemployment insurance as a vital resource for workers whose hours have been cut or who are between jobs. But we know that too many workers face barriers getting the unemployment benefits they deserve.

Research shows that less than 1 in 3 workers eligible for unemployment benefits actually get them, and that this rate is far worse for Maine workers who are immigrants, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, low-income and/or rural. Barriers to getting unemployment benefits include outdated information about who is eligible and not eligible, language barriers, difficulty accessing or using technology, and complex application procedures and eligibility criteria. 

The Peer Navigators benefit from our Project’s partnership with the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL), with expert training in unemployment insurance and related services as well as established channels of communication. This partnership allows Navigators to help unemployed and underemployed workers complete successful applications for benefits while also gathering vital information about problems in the system. In collaboration with the Maine Department of Labor, the Project can work toward systemic reforms that will make the unemployment system more accessible and responsive to workers. 

We help workers access economic security programs (like MaineCare, Food Assistance (SNAP) and the ChildCare Subsidy Program) that give people the support they need to work toward their career goals.

We believe that to support someone in their workforce goals we must support their whole self. To be free to dream and plan for a career and economic security, we need enough to eat, a roof over our head, a way to get to work or help watching our kids. 

Public benefit programs can help meet basic needs along the path to a better job, but these programs can be hard to access. For this reason, the Peer Navigators are committed and trained to help connect community members with these resources.

Public benefits include things like: MaineCare, Food Assistance (SNAP), childcare, TANF, General Assistance, and Heat and Energy Assistance, along with connections and referrals to experts who can support in areas like housing and transportation. 

 

Interested in learning more? See Maine Equal Justice for information on public benefit programs.