PRESQUE ISLE and SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Southern Maine Community College and Northern Maine Community College are partnering to offer the Presque Isle campus’ water treatment technology program in South Portland this fall.
NMCC launched its Water Treatment Technology degree and certificate programs at the request of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2018 to train people to fill vital in-demand jobs at water treatment facilities across Maine. By offering the program at SMCC, NMCC is expanding its training opportunities to meet the growing demand for skilled employees in Portland and southern Maine.
“We are pleased to work with NMCC in response to industry needs,” said SMCC President Joe Cassidy. “Together, we are committed to helping provide Mainers the skills they need for careers with bright futures. This affordable, accessible program will help businesses and municipalities build the workforces they need to grow and prosper while strengthening Maine’s economy.”
The program is expanding because of the growing number of partners working with NMCC, said NMCC President Timothy Crowley.
“The partnership with the Maine DEP has been supportive and vital throughout the program’s development and this expansion,” he said. “This collaboration with SMCC will be added to the current list of professional water and wastewater organization partners who joined the initiative very early in the development of the program.”
NMCC is the only college in Maine to offer an associate degree in Water Treatment Technology, as well as certificates in water and wastewater treatment technologies. It developed the program in response to the growing need for qualified personnel to operate complex equipment in water treatment facilities statewide as the current workforce gets older and nears retirement.
Through a combination of online learning and hands-on instruction delivered in a state-of-the-art lab on SMCC’s South Portland campus, the expanded program will provide training for future water treatment technicians at government and private water and wastewater treatment plants across Maine.
Additional employment opportunities are available for laboratory analysis, chemical process and sales positions in companies that support the water industry.
To learn more about the program, please visit the NMCC Water Treatment Technology webpage.
To apply for admission into water treatment courses at SMCC, contact the NMCC Admissions Department at 207-768-2785 or admissions@nmcc.edu.
Submitted by the Development and College Relations Office of Northern Maine Community College.
