Our four spring hands-on Totally Trades! Conferences for middle and high school girls to explore careers in trades and technology had to be postponed or cancelled because of COVID-19. As a result of conversations with our Maine Department of Education, Career and Technical Education (CTE) colleagues, NVME developed two short online modules for CTE and other high school juniors and seniors as they learned and we worked from home. The two sessions were offered during multiple time frames in May and June. “Exploring Trade and Technical Careers in Maine” provided resources specific to apprenticeship, training and education, career exploration, and job search in Maine. “First Impressions Matter” provided information about resume and interview preparation for a successful job search targeted to high school students.

Both sessions were well received by students and CTE staff as schools wrapped up their academic years. As one CTE staff/parent remarked: “The webinar fostered discussion about educational resources and career opportunities, like apprenticeship, we didn’t know about. Just the websites were great tools that we can research further.”

This fall, we are planning for uncertainties around school re-openings and space limitations by laying the groundwork for a possible virtual Totally Trades conference and other trade and technical career opportunities to be offered online statewide. For more information, please contact Suzanne Senechal-Jandreau at 207-768-9635 or senechal@maine.edu. We especially
want to thank our Totally Trades! supporters and partners for their flexibility during this time.