In 2014, less than half of working adults in Maine had a college degree or credential. By 2024, the rate had risen by more than 10 percentage points, to 55.5%.

That’s according to MaineSpark, a coalition of education and business leaders in Maine trying to make the state’s workforce more productive and competitive.

Now, the group has an ambitious new goal: 70% by 2035.

Maine is the oldest state in the nation, and its workforce participation rate is below the national average. The state ranks 18th for share of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher, but MaineSpark says there is still an urgent need to address workforce challenges by growing education and workforce credential attainment.

To achieve its goals, the coalition has defined areas of priority, including support to complete college credentials, reducing financial barriers to postsecondary education, early career exposure in schools, high-quality pre-K, early literacy and math skills, and support for first-generation and low-income students.

“We’ve shown that with a shared purpose, we can make great strides helping Mainers gain postsecondary credentials for good jobs,” Jason Judd, executive director of the nonprofit Educate Maine, said in a statement about the announcement.

The group set an initial goal a decade ago of getting to 60% by 2025, but won’t know until early next year whether it met that goal, because its data collection methodology lags a year behind.

Despite the setbacks of the pandemic, the coalition said, Maine made significant strides as partner organizations have “connected the people of our state with the education, training, jobs, programs and resources needed to thrive in our robust and changing economy.”

MaineSpark has also defined other goals to reach by 2035, like getting 55% of economically disadvantaged Maine high school graduates enrolled in a postsecondary pathway within one year of graduation, and achieving 75% proficiency in fourth grade reading and math on the NWEA assessment (the latest results put 63.7% of fourth graders at or above state expectations on English Language Arts, and 55.5% on math).

Maine has taken many steps recently to make college credentials accessible to more students and grow the state’s shrinking workforce, including making community college permanently tuition-free this year through Gov. Janet Mills’ supplemental budget.

The community college system has also grown its short-term training programs funded by the Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce. The University of Maine System has expanded its online credential offerings, offers resources for adults learners and many institutions provide free tuition for in-state students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants.

MaineSpark, which launched in 2016, is made up of more than 120 businesses and institutions. It is guided by major education and business entities, like the nonprofit Educate Maine, the Maine Development Foundation, the Alfond Scholarship Foundation, the public University of Maine and Maine Community College Systems, and the Finance Authority of Maine.

The coalition helps make Maine students aware of options including credit transfers, online learning options, grants and financial aid resources, childcare, transportation, apprenticeships, internships and other workforce preparation resources.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to clarify that MaineSpark doesn’t yet know if it met its 2025 goal.