Faced with a shortage of skilled workers for the state's fish, shellfish and seaweed farms, Maine is breaking ground to find a solution.

Max Burtis isn’t used to talking shop with his employees.

So it’s something of an unusual situation when on a sunny weekday in early June, his employees are helping him strategize for the day — purchasing equipment, counting the bags of clams and oysters they sold, tallying the money they earned and brainstorming about how to get by during an algal bloom that has temporarily halted their harvesting.

Burtis wouldn’t put those expectations on a typical worker at Bombazine Oyster Company, which operates in the New Meadows River.

“A lot of farm hands are more of a transient sort of employee,” Burtis said. “This is a delegation of a lot of important tasks. Farmhands don’t get Amex cards (for the business).”

But these aren’t just any farmhands.

Kelly Morgan and Matt Czuchra are current and former apprentices, respectively, in the country’s first  — and only — registered aquaculture apprenticeship program.

Maine has, for years, been campaigning to be the leader in the country’s aquaculture industry. In 2022, the state became the top U.S. producer of farmed kelp, harvesting just under 1 million pounds. Maine’s water-based farmers also raise shellfish, fish and other types of seaweed.

But like many employers in the state, aquaculture farmers struggle to find consistent help.

Farm owners and labor officials hope this program can help attract, train and retain more aquaculture workers. And they hope Maine can set a model to continue leading the way.

“There are a lot of ways that other states can look to what Maine is doing in aquaculture and really use that as a blueprint for how to build out their strategies and meet the demands of their workforces,” said Vanessa Bennett, the national apprenticeship director at Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit focused on developing American workforce systems.

FILLING THE GAPS

Maine’s aquaculture industry has rapidly grown in the last two decades. Researchers predict the value of Maine’s aquaculture exports will reach $800 million by the end of 2025.

But, within the next 15 years, the industry is projected to be 1,300 workers short, according to the Maine Aquaculture Association. Sebastian Belle, its executive director, said those shortages are in part because of a lack of workers with experience, and a lack of vision that people can build fruitful careers in the industry.

“One of the things that we’ve discovered is nobody was really painting the picture for young people, (that) this could be a career,” Belle said.

Christian Brayden, the association’s apprenticeship project manager, said the lack of workers has prevented owners from growing their farms and making money.

That inspired Brayden to begin developing the program with help from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Educate Maine, Focus Maine, the Maine Department of Labor and Jobs for the Future.

The first cohort, with six apprentices, was sent out on the water in 2023. The second cohort brought on another 10. And last month, six more started. Over those three years, the number of applicants doubled, from 30 to 60.

The apprentices must complete 2,000 hours — which typically takes 1-1.5 years — to get certificates that are recognized by every state. They receive paychecks from their employers, earning an average of $19 an hour with a slight increase as they reach the end of the program. They get another $3,000 from the aquaculture association to account for time at training programs, conferences and community building activities with their peers.

The Maine Aquaculture Association has received funding to run the program, which costs about $130,000 annually, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center. Brayden said the association is uncertain whether it will continue to receive federal funding as the Trump administration cuts spending.

There are other apprenticeship-like aquaculture programs in the country, Brayden said. But Maine is the only state with a program accredited by the U.S. Department of Labor, which program organizers say gives it more credibility.

“They’re issued a nationally recognized certificate of completion that is portable,” said Joan Dolan, the director of apprenticeships at the Maine Department of Labor. “If they do want to leave, it gives (hiring employers) a really good understanding of what should be expected of the apprentices on the job and what they are capable of.”

That credibility is what brought Morgan, Bombazine Oyster Company’s apprentice, from Southern California to Maine to participate.

Now, with two years of success, Brayden said other states are reaching out to learn how they can build their own programs.

FROM GREEN TO RIPE

Morgan, 26, had never harvested an oyster — wild or farmed — when she arrived in Maine. But when she’s working on the water, it’s hard to tell she is still a cub.

Having spent over a year at the farm, Morgan has learned how to prioritize tasks. And she is spearheading a summer research project with the other apprentices to track how long it takes an oyster seed to grow. Sometimes, that means sorting through multiple cages to make sure there are 200 baby oysters in each. On this day, she focused on the task, with brows furrowed — and only started over once.

Patrick Sullivan started as a pre-apprentice less than a month ago and looks at her and Czuchra, who was in the 2023 cohort, like they are pros.

“They’ve reached a point where they can … pluck information right off the top of their head,” he said. “It’s super impressive how on top of it they are.”

And seeing how much Morgan and Czuchra love the program, Sullivan is tempted to follow in their footsteps as a future apprentice.

It’s been a huge relief for Burtis. This is the first time he can solidly depend on his workers since he opened the farm in 2018. Burtis knows they aren’t just here for summer gigs to pass the time and make some cash. With their help, Burtis has been able to focus on the bigger picture at Bombazine. He’s had time to apply for grants and business loans and to expand the business.

“If I needed to be out here every day oyster farming, I wouldn’t have had the time to do any of that,” Burtis said.

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Morgan and Czuchra end their morning by maneuvering through rows of 400 some-odd oyster cages, flipping them upside down to dry out the bottoms. It’s work they say they truly love.

Still, the industry’s low wages and winter slowdowns, when there isn’t much to do, have made the pair realize they want to pursue other career paths.

Czuchra is hoping to start another apprenticeship, this time with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, to build a more stable career. Morgan plans to find a new job once her apprenticeship ends in August.

Brayden said it takes at least seven years for farms to begin making a profit, which makes it challenging to offer higher wages. But he hopes that the apprenticeship program can help farms grow faster.

“As we see farms becoming more efficient and profitable,” Brayden said, “what we have seen in some of those cases is that they are able to pay better wages and, even more importantly, bring on things like benefits, including health insurance, paid time off — things that are really much more attractive to both recruit and retain workers.”

But Morgan is not abandoning her knowledge from this apprenticeship. She’s long wanted to work in environmental policy and advocacy. And now, after 2,000 hours on the farm, she wants aquaculture, working waterfronts and coastal resiliency to be at the forefront of her work.

Burtis will miss Morgan and Czuchra. But having them on board, even for just a few years, has given him faith in the program. He is confident their shoes can be filled.

“I can feel comfortable investing a lot of time and a lot of energy, because they’ve made that commitment to training,” he said. “And when they make that investment into you, when you feel your time training them is not going to waste — it feels amazing.”

Source - https://www.pressherald.com