About the SWDB

By developing innovative resources and strategies, the State Workforce Development Board (SWDB) helps create the conditions necessary for talent development efforts to thrive, supporting economic prosperity for all Maine people.

As Maine’s backbone organization for talent development, the SWDB brings together public agencies, employers, K–12 education, postsecondary institutions, and community-based organizations to strengthen and align the state's workforce system. Through these partnerships, the SWDB works to:

  1. Meet the talent needs of Maine employers;
  2. Remove barriers to work for Maine people;
  3. Align Maine’s workforce system by coordinating with public and private partners; and
  4. Measure the effectiveness of workforce programs and scale best practices.

What is the SWDB?

The SWDB is an employer-led board whose purpose is to ensure that Maine’s workforce development system helps Maine people and businesses compete successfully in the global economy. The SWDB advises the Governor on workforce policy and the development and evaluation of the workforce development system, which includes state agencies such as the Department of Education, the Department of Economic and Community Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services; the Maine Community College System and the University of Maine System; local workforce boards; employers; labor unions; training providers; and more.

The SWDB is defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and authorized under Maine Law. The SWDB, which is one of WIOA’s compliance requirements for the Governor to receive workforce investment funds that serve to remove barriers to employment for adult workers, dislocated workers, and youth, has primary responsibility for ensuring the alignment of state workforce systems with the development of Maine’s 4-year WIOA Unified State Plan and the development of strategies and guidance that promote the continuous improvement of Maine’s workforce system.

Funding for the SWDB is provided through the Governor’s portion of WIOA funding allocated to the State.

The Core partners under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act are

Local Workforce Boards