Can HMEF’s Education Strategy Pay Off for Maine’s Service Industry?

The state of Maine is preparing for continued demand to its hospitality industry, with tax data indicating it’s set to beat 2019’s $4 billion gross revenue record. Thought this is exciting for the industry at large, it also creates chokepoints in operations; Maine is surpassing gross revenue numbers with 13,000 less employees, according to the HospitalityMaine Education Foundation.

To make sure this growth isn’t squandered due to a lack of resources and operational capacity, the HMEF launched a training and career path program, Dirigo 2025, to support professionals looking to break into the service industry. This includes investments into culinary trade schools, on-the-job credits, and higher education certifications.

Sean Flynn, Chief Customer Officer at InStride, a continued education provider connecting businesses with flexible education paths, gave his insights on which of the channels HMEF is focusing on will be most useful for retaining and elevating service industry workers, and why.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

AI Infrastructure
Simplifying AI Infrastructure: From Data Center to Deployment (Part 1)
May 19, 2026

In this episode of the Flawless Execution podcast, Jeff Hudgins, VP of Global Services at UNICOM Engineering, breaks down the real-world challenges of deploying AI infrastructure at scale. As AI moves from one-off builds to repeatable global deployments, OEMs, ISVs, and enterprises face increasing complexity across design, integration, cooling, logistics, and installation. Jeff discusses how…

Read More
TGR Foundation
Tiger Woods’ TGR Foundation Is Reimagining Educational Access Through STEAM, AI, and Community Partnerships
May 19, 2026

As schools across the United States continue grappling with post-pandemic learning loss, declining student engagement, and shrinking emergency funding, nonprofit organizations are increasingly stepping in to fill critical gaps. Recent national studies on literacy recovery, student engagement, and career-connected learning show that educators are facing significant post-pandemic challenges in keeping students connected to pathways that…

Read More
Talent
Higher Ed Must Build a Talent Supply Chain to Fix Workforce Readiness
May 18, 2026

The traditional pathway from college to career is starting to break down—and both universities and employers are feeling the strain. Higher education is under mounting pressure to prove career outcomes as employers question graduate readiness and internships decline. In fact, many institutions are reporting shrinking internship pipelines even as employers continue to prioritize prior…

Read More
healthcare
The Healthcare Talent Fix: Build Pipelines Early, Use Data, and Get the Experience Right
May 18, 2026

There’s a growing tension inside healthcare right now—between the people leaving the workforce and the patients still arriving every day. It’s a dynamic that leaders can no longer afford to ignore. The numbers make that clear: the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. could be short of as many as 86,000 physicians…

Read More