Agenda

• 8:00-8:30 am Check-in, breakfast, networking

• 8:30-9:00 am Welcome and Keynote address

  Workshops: How to select your sessions

  When registering for the sessions, please select the sessions in order of your preference. We will let you know the sessions you will be attending when you arrive at the event. CPR and First Aid will be the full morning or you will attend two breakout sessions. Breakout sessions repeat with Session 1 beginning at 9:00 am and Session 2 beginning at 10:30 am.
  
  Select 1: CPR and First Aid (Full morning session, 9:00-11:50 am)
  Presented by: MMG Safety

  In order to work with children in a licensed childcare program in Maine, employees must have CPR and First Aid certification. This full morning session provides you with the required CPR/First Aid certification to become a childcare worker.

  
  Select 2: Session 1 (9:00-10:20 am) or Session 2 (10:30-11:50 am)

  A. Work Readiness 101

  Presented by: Greater Portland Career Center

  Gain key work readiness skills to help you find and obtain employment.
  Discover more about community resources and support available to job seekers.

  B. Grow a Career in Early Care and Education 

  Presented by: Maine Roads to Quality, Maine Association for the Education of Young Children, and OCFS Department of Early Care and Education

  Are you thinking of working in child care but don’t know where to begin?  This workshop will offer participants a step-by-step roadmap to let you know what you need to do and how to use the resources that are available to help you get started.  You will also learn about the different child care settings and opportunities for several career pathways of working with young children in Maine.

  C. Starting Your Own Childcare Program in Maine

  Presented by: Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI)

  Learn more about CEI’s Child Care Business Lab and how you can participate.
  The Child Care Business Lab helps first time entrepreneurs start and grow a financially sustainable childcare business.

• 12:00-1:30 pm Lunch and panel presentation 

  Hear from the owners and educators of Happy Little Paradise in Lewiston, Maine about their journey to become an immigrant-led cooperative childcare.

• 1:30-3:00 pm Career Fair

  Meet with employers looking for employees, including local, licensed childcare providers, public schools and more.

  Speak with childcare employers to find out what credentials they seek from job candidates, and what they offer their employees, including pay and other benefits.

Participating Employers:

• Portland Public Schools

• Youth and Family Outreach

• Catherine Morrill Day Nursery

• York County Community Action

• Imagination Station

• Midcoast Maine Community Action

• PLAY

• Bright Horizons

Participating Vendors:

• Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network

• Maine Association for the Education of Young Children

• Office of Child and Family Services, Childcare Licensing

• Career Center of Greater Portland

• Family Child Care Association of Maine