Dive Brief:
- Maine employers are looking for labor among an unlikely group: those recovering from addiction. According to the Portland Press Herald, the Southern Maine Workforce Initiative holds job fairs targeting Mainers recovering from substance abuse.
- The initiative hosted a job fair Oct. 9. More than 25 businesses participated in the fair, with employers such as Tyson Foods and Home Depot in attendance. Candidates had access to workshops to practice interview skills and work on resumes. They also could take home donated business-casual clothing.
- The opioid crisis has devastated Maine. Janet Mills, the Attorney General of Maine, reported in February, 2018 that Maine saw 418 drug-induced deaths in 2017, up 11% from 2016. Many employers in the program said they have had successful experiences with it. "If they are willing to work and are good workers, we are willing to support them," one employer told the Portland Press Herald.
Dive Insight:
The opioid crisis has taken a toll on workers, businesses and communities. Employees taking opioid prescriptions stay out longer on disability leave, the Workers Compensation Research Institute found. The Surgeon General recently called on businesses to work with their wellness and health plans to help combat the problem: it's estimated 40% of opioid addicts are covered under their employer's insurance programming. That's no simple task, though. Some businesses are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in health coverage costs for employees or their dependents' drug treatment.
Like employers in Maine, many business leaders have taken a creative approach as they work to address the problems the opioid crisis has created. An Indiana manufacturing company has been hard so hit by drug problems that it started offering job seekers treatment before they're hired and a guaranteed position if they complete rehabilitation.
More and more employers are hiring applicants who may have been overlooked in the past. Hiring managers are looking toward talent pools outside of the norm, targeting those formerly addicted, formerly incarcerated and more.
