Education and Certifications

TechMaine User Groups

The technology workforce tends to be a distinct community that strengthens and renews itself through intense, peer-to-peer interactions in a variety of contexts that usually do not include traditional, classroom-based instruction. This is because most entrepreneurs and their employees are continuously self-taught. Frequent, focused peer-to-peer interaction is both a vehicle to maintain the required skill sets and a creative stimulus for new commercial products.

TechMaine User Groups are the model for community-based learning - our Communities of Practice approach to education. Our activities mirror the events that will build a unique blended-learning system that will benefit Maine technology companies and entrepreneurs.

TechMaine’s User Groups capitalize on the most natural of all learning processes, learning through interactions and relationships in networks of others who are experiencing and working on the same challenges and tasks. People learn in communities of other people working on the same things. They learn from other people, and consciously or unconsciously teach other members, through a matrix of relationships and social exchanges.

In others’ words…..
“I love living in Maine, but being an IT professional here is more challenging than in, say, Boston. 'TechMaine' is a huge asset in meeting those challenges.” “Learning about new technologies at user group meetings has helped me to move to those sooner in my development work.”

“For me, attending user group meetings is an enjoyable way to tap into the local IT community’s knowledge about the best (meaning best-of-breed and most up-to-date) tools available.”

“The SBIR proposal I wrote funds the development of a mobile application. Attending user group meetings helped me define the application architecture best suited to build this proposed mobile application.”

“Presentations on unfamiliar technologies have gotten me to think about how those could be incorporated in future projects and led me to get co-workers interested in considering these technologies.”

Continuous Learning is Mandatory

Our activities are building a unique learning system that will benefit Maine technology companies and entrepreneurs. TechMaine is working to help Maine's TechForce compete at the leading edge of technology.

Education of the workforce is fundamental if Maine is going to participate in the global innovation economy. Skilled information technology and knowledge workers are the necessary ingredient for the future of Maine's economy. Today’s technology worker’s success demands continuous learning; an ongoing educational commitment to maintain knowledge, skills and career opportunities. Education does not end with a college degree; but continues with seminars, conferences, e-Learning, and advanced training. The technologies change very fast and new ideas and applications are developed every day.

The rapidly changing landscape demands a solid education as a base and dedication to the principle of life-long learning. Technology professionals now reach across all areas within an organization and must sharpen their "soft skills" involving communication, management, teamwork and becoming familiar with other cultures. Business skills are now crucial as technology managers, engineers and developers have become more business-centric.