Maine's Labor Chief Joins Elite Group to Shape Future Workforce

Laura Fortman, Maine's Commissioner of Labor, has been chosen for the American Swiss Foundation's 2025 Innovation Fellows program. This group brings together leaders from the U. S. and Switzerland to discuss workforce development and labor innovation. The program kicked off with a forum at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Here, Fortman and other state labor leaders shared ideas on how to prepare workers for the future. The goal is to find new ways to train people for jobs that don't even exist yet. Fortman is excited about this opportunity. She wants to learn from Switzerland's famous apprenticeship system. This system is known for its success in training workers. Fortman hopes to bring some of these ideas back to Maine. Fortman has been in charge of Maine's labor department since 2019. She oversees things like labor laws, job training, and unemployment benefits. Before that, she led the same department from 2003 to 2011 under Governor John Baldacci. Lee Umphrey, CEO of the Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC), supports Fortman's efforts. He believes this program will help Maine improve its workforce training. Umphrey thinks Fortman's experience makes her a great choice for this role. The American Swiss Foundation was created in 1945. Its mission is to connect leaders from Switzerland and the U. S. to invest in the next generation. This program is part of that mission.