Program helps the unemployed find jobs in one of Maine’s poorest counties

A new program aims to speed up and personalize job searches for residents of the Maine county with the state’s highest rate of unemployment.

Back2WorkHub, led by the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce, might help a person who is searching for a job get appropriate clothing for an interview, or prepare a cover letter or resume. Sometimes the chamber will call an employer and ask them to “take a leap of faith” on someone who has gone through an initial screening and appears to be a good fit, said Denise Buzzelli, the chamber’s executive director.

She said a program like this is needed in Piscataquis County, where residents face barriers related to digital literacy, transportation and essential services. The county has a 5 percent unemployment rate, up from 4.2 percent a year ago and the highest in the state, according to April 2024 figures from the Maine Department of Labor.

“I think the biggest difference from other programs is we are relying heavily on relationships with our business owners to link the out-of-work resident and an employer desperate to find someone,” Buzzelli said.

The chamber upgraded its website in 2019 to allow its members to post job openings and events, but people looking for work still felt disconnected from employers.

They apply for jobs alongside dozens of others without knowing whether their application actually lands on anyone’s desk, particularly when they go through websites like Indeed, Buzzelli said. When people are turned down, employers usually don’t tell them why or suggest where they can improve, she said.

Buzzelli, who has spent 12 years in her role, and Kerry Glover, the chamber’s workforce manager, are using their relationships with nearly 300 members and local resources, like the Penquis Higher Education Center, to bridge those gaps. They meet one-on-one with those who fill out an intake form to learn what job they want, the barriers they face and how to get past them, she said.

The chamber hired Glover to work 25 hours a week to run the program and also work as the visitors center supervisor.

“We want people to feel like, ‘You’re worth it, we believe in you and we want to help you find your next job or career,’” Buzzelli said.

Since the program launched last month, seven people have enrolled. Five of them have consulted with the chamber, and three have secured job interviews.

One woman works as a paralegal in Bangor, but she wants a shorter commute and to be closer to home to care for her child. Buzzelli, who thought of a local law firm that might be a good fit, picked up the phone and asked them to meet the woman. 

“Within 15 minutes, she had an interview. She was totally floored,” Buzzelli said. “She called me afterward to say it went well.”

The chamber hopes to help about two people per week through the rest of the year, and it will also offer quarterly bus tours to the area’s major employers. It is seeking funding for the program because the $20,000 it received, part of a $100,000 state grant to the Eastern Maine Development Corp., will run out at the end of the year.

“When 80 to 85 percent of your members tell you to start doing something workforce-related, and then it goes away, that’s not good,” Buzzelli said, referring to feedback from 89 responses to a March survey. “I am committed to making this a success.”