New scholarships announced for Maine engineering and skilled trades students
Irving Forest Products Inc. is supporting home-grown talent in Maine with the creation of two new scholarships for post-secondary students in skilled trades and engineering fields.
Applications are now open for the Irving Forest Products Maine Engineering Scholarship and the Irving Forest Products Maine Skilled Trades Scholarship, which aim to support local students pursue higher education in high-demand professions and find work in their communities.
The scholarships cover 50 per cent of tuition – up to $6,000 for engineering students and up to $4,000 for skilled trades students – and are renewable based on performance. They also come with a paid summer internship placements at the Ashland Sawmill, Dixfield Sawmill or Masardis Sawmill and guaranteed full-time employment with Irving Forest Products Inc. after graduation.
The programs are open to grade 12, university students, and mature students looking to pursue studies at a Maine post-secondary institution in the mechanical, electrical, power engineering and electrical/instrumentation fields. Applicants must be from Maine’s Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Oxford or Penobscot counties.
The scholarships are the latest in the company’s push to support students interested in careers in engineering and skilled trades. A similar Northern New Brunswick Trades & Engineering Scholarship was established by the Sawmills and Woodlands Division in 2023.
“The Irving Forest Products Maine Engineering and Skilled Trades scholarships are a key initiative to ensure that we have a strong local talent pipeline for years to come,” said Jerome Pelletier, Vice President of Sawmills for J.D. Irving, Limited. “Attracting and retaining engineers and skilled tradespeople in local jobs is important, not just from a business perspective, but also for supporting local economies, communities and families.”
Students interested in applying for the Irving Forest Products Maine Engineering Scholarship or the Irving Forest Products Maine Skilled Trades Scholarship may do so here: https://careers.jdirving.com/#en/sites/Careers/job/2988?mode=location.
Applications are open from Sept. 2 to Oct. 29.
