Welcome young talent. Strengthen your business. Build Maine’s future.
The Maine Career Exploration Program (MCEP) offers businesses a strategic opportunity to engage with motivated young people aged 16–24 through paid work experiences. This initiative, part of the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, is designed to align young individuals’ career interests with real-world job opportunities, providing mutual benefits for both employers and participants.
And the best news? You can participate at no cost to you.
What Is It?
It’s a paid, short-term career exploration opportunity that introduces young people in Maine to the wide range of career paths available in their communities. Participants get up to 75 paid hours of hands-on learning and work experience, while you get a chance to mentor, inspire, and potentially connect with your future workforce.
How it Works:
We’re partnering with local organizations —like yours—who are open to giving young people a window into what they do. You provide a safe, engaging environment where participants can learn, explore, and develop valuable skills. We handle the program administration and wages—you just open your doors and provide onsite supervision.
What Kind of Work Can Youth Perform?
That’s a great question! Since the program is designed for young people between ages 16-24, it will depend on their age. Most program participants can perform any general office work, light duty manufacturing, and work involving computers & research. Young people ages 16 & 17 cannot operate machinery of any kind.
Manpower is here to work with you to identify age appropriate opportunities that will meet both the needs of the young person and your organization.
Opportunities Available:
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Job Shadows – Time spent following someone at their job to see what it’s like.
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Internships – Short-term, guided work experiences where you can gain experience in a specific industry or role.
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Mentorships – A strategic relationship with someone that has experience in a specific field that gives you advice, support, and guidance.
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Apprenticeships – Work in support of someone in a specific role often in a trade or other specialized position.
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Community Service – Spending your time helping in your community through non-profits or municipalities
- Work-based Learning – Any learning that happens through real work experiences and on-the-job training.
Why Participate?
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Build connections with emerging talent
- Get work completed at your business at no cost to you
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Contribute to your community’s economic future
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Showcase the real-world opportunities available in your industry
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Help young people discover rewarding careers they may not have considered
This is your chance to invest in the future of Maine—while getting fresh perspectives and potential new energy in your workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is our focus and responsibility to place young people in safe and approved work experiences. There are certain industries or jobs that we have determined to be prohibited due to safety, risk assessment and/or insurance liability reasons.
This list is not all-inclusive, and Manpower reserves the right to decline a work experience based on our assessment. Please note that all work experiences must be approved prior to the student starting.
Each participant in the program is allowed to be paid for up to 75 hours of qualified work experiences. Each hour would be paid the legal minimum wage.
Work schedules will differ between assignments and will be something that the Manpower will work with you to figure out. If under the age of 18, all Maine laws regarding youth employment scheduling will be followed.
Youth could work a few hours in total, a few per week, or could work full-time (up to the 75 hours allotted) during school break.
As the business, you will not be charged for the first 75 hours.
The duration of each work experience will vary by participant and assignment. What’s most important to keep in mind is that the program provides funding for up to 75 total hours per participant. It is not required to complete all 75 hours, and the hours do not need to be completed at a single host site.
The process will be even quicker! Just let us know the details and we will coordinate directly with you and the youth participant to set up the work experience.
Then we will talk! While the Maine Career Exploration Program will only fund the first 75 hours, if your organization and the youth want to continue to work together, Manpower may be able to offer traditional staffing options.
