AUGUSTA -- Staff members at the University of Maine at Augusta-based Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community would not be surprised if they soon saw increased interest in their training programs.

As job growth in Maine slows to a crawl, more residents may turn to founding their own small businesses for employment.

And the Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community are set up to offer the training needed for aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the state.

"Oftentimes in economic downturns, people turn to self-employment as their only alternative," said Eloise Vitelli, the centers' director of program and policy development. "Self-employment is seen as a viable option because there are no other jobs out there."

In January, a slow job market pushed the state's unemployment rate to 5 percent, up from 4.5 percent in January 2007, according to the state's Department of Labor.

Through the Women, Work and Community centers' programs, small businesswomen -- a handful of men have also taken advantage of the centers' services since their 1978 start -- can participate in classes in which they create business plans, learn how to market their services and pick up other business management skills.

The centers -- 18 in Maine -- also offer tips on sharpening resumes to become more appealing to employers.

Since the 1984 start of the centers' New Ventures Entrepreneurship Planning class, 2,000 students have taken part in the training. Of those who graduate from the program with a feasible business plan in hand, Vitelli said, 60 percent are in business a year after graduation.

The businesses span a range of markets, Vitelli said.

"If you think of any downtown or Main Street in the state, those are all the kinds of businesses that you see," she said.

Most businesses born out of Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community training are "microenterprises," with fewer than five employees. Day-care providers, Web designers, artists, jewelers, caterers, cafe owners, farmers and innkeepers are among the businesses Women, Work and Community training has spawned, Vitelli said.

Maine ranks behind only Florida, Montana and Vermont in the percentage of working people employed by microenterprises. Microenterprises employ 21.5 percent of workers in Maine, compared to 18.1 percent nationwide.

"Part of what we do is help people create jobs and bring activity to the economy," Vitellli said. "You need to keep the engine going."

In a largely rural state such as Maine, technology has offered rural small-business owners opportunities they did not previously have, said the centers' executive director, Gilda Nardone, who was recently honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the Women in Business Champion for Maine and New England.

"It's been interesting to see how that's evolved," Nardone said of technology and business. "How can we help them access the tools that will help them?"

Using video conferencing technology, the organization broadcasts training sessions to students at the 18 centers around the state. Staff members also set up three business resource centers that offer students access to computers and printers they can use to create marketing materials.

In addition, trainers have begun encouraging all students to create Web sites for their businesses.

Since recession fears have begun to dominate the economy, Women, Work and Community staff have seen interest spike in workforce development offerings that help women gain marketable business skills. The organization also has seen continued interest in the entrepreneurship planning class.

Despite a slow economy, a small-business person can almost always find opportunities, Nardone said.

"We do try to encourage people to think 'What's the market for your business?'" she said.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com