Brewer - There's a growing need for healthcare professionals in the state of Maine.

"We have job postings that we have to recruit out of our area to fill," said Paula Theriault, E-Quest Program Manager at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS).

That's part of the reason why EMHS has invited a group of high school teachers and guidance counselors to learn more about what they do and what they're looking for in a new hire.

"What are the skills that our students need? What are the attributes that kids need to fill these job opportunities?," said Theriault.

The meeting is part of a course called Building Bridges, offered by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce. It links these educators with different businesses that could someday hire their students.

"They get to learn the HR components and skill sets and meet and network with the business leaders in all of those industries, so it kind of, so to speak, bridges the gap between business and education," said Matt McLaughlin, Program Cooridnator at the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

At EMHS, the group learned there's a lot more to the healthcare industry than the work doctors and nurses do. There are plenty of jobs that don't require working directly with a patient, like those in technology or maintenance..

McLaughlin said, "It's really important for the teachers to be able to say to their students, 'Hey, there are these certain career opportunities in our region.'"

They hope this will encourage more young Mainers to stay here after graduation to work and to live.

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