By Staff As part of a new national initiative, Maine will receive up to $100,000 in grant funding and other support to accelerate COVID-19 workforce recovery. Maine was selected as one of the first nine states in the Workforce Innovation Network, a joint initiative of the National Governors Association and Cognizant U.S. Foundation. The state will receive a grant to improve employment outcomes in response to the economic impacts of COVID-19, connecting job seekers to training, education, job opportunities and essential support services, according to a news release. “There are good-paying jobs in the trades, in electrical and plumbing work, in construction and manufacturing, in health care and life sciences and in clean energy that are going unfilled,” Gov. Janet Mills said in the release. “Our economic recovery depends on our ability to connect Maine workers to those jobs.”