Our strong Maine roots date back to the 1800s when Hiram Ricker first began bottling spring water from Poland Spring and Arthur Hannaford began selling fruits and vegetables from a cart on the waterfront in Portland.

Looking back over our long histories here, it is clear that the success of our businesses is intimately linked to the dedication, hard work and determination of our talented Maine employees. Maine people form our foundations. Today, our companies create more than 10,000 full- and part-time jobs in local communities across the state.

But times have changed, and hard work and dedication to a task are no longer all that is required to sustain good jobs and a strong economy. Jobs of all kinds now require technical know-how, strong communication skills and an ability to adapt to rapid changes in the workplace.

Recent research out of Georgetown University finds that 59 percent of all jobs in Maine by 2018 will require education beyond high school. But, today, only 37 percent of Maine citizens hold a college degree, well below the New England average of 45 percent.

We have a long way to go and not much time to get there.

The good news is that Maine people recognize this and are turning in droves to the state’s community colleges. Enrollment is up 9.6 percent this fall, 77 percent since the transition from technical to community colleges in 2003.

The state’s seven community colleges prepare people for high-skilled careers and provide a variety of continuing education opportunities. These resources are critically important for companies such as ours that benefit from an educated work force to fill the quality jobs we create.

But the bad news is that the colleges are unable to meet the demand from students and from businesses that need skilled workers.

In 2006, the governor’s Community College Advisory Council determined that 4,200 jobs go unfilled in Maine each year because applicants lack the required skills they could acquire at the community college level. Even more troubling is that nearly 100 programs in the Maine Community College System are at or near capacity. In 2009, our community colleges were forced to turn away 4,000 students seeking enrollment because they did not have the resources and infrastructure to accommodate them.

We are proud Maine businesses and are deeply committed to the people and the future of this state. We recognize that we must play a role in helping more of our citizens acquire the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in a new and demanding economy. This month, our companies affirmed this belief by pledging a combined $1 million to the Campaign for Maine’s Community Colleges.

If Maine is going to work its way out of its current economic situation, if Maine is to thrive, Maine must have a robust community college system that can meet the needs of its citizens and its employers. To do this, the MCCS trustees have set an ambitious goal to increase student enrollment to 20,000 students by 2015.

Recognizing that state and federal funds will not be sufficient to achieve this critically important goal — especially in the current economy — Poland Spring and Hannaford have joined the Maine Community College Foundation, its lead sponsor L.L.Bean and other private investors to launch a minimum, and ambitious, $10 million capital campaign to help the MCCS meet critical, unmet needs that include: the expansion of programs that are near or at capacity; the replacement of outdated equipment and technology; capital upgrades to accommodate more students at the existing seven colleges; the creation of a mid-coast campus at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station; and an expansion in financial assistance for students.

The state’s community colleges are critical to the success of Maine people, the Maine economy and our own businesses. Poland Spring and Hannaford are proud to pledge our support and our financial resources today, in order to help the Maine Community College System educate tomorrow’s workers. But we all have a responsibility to support Maine’s next generation. We invite other businesses and individuals to join us by investing in Maine’s future today.

Beth Newlands Campbell is president of Hannaford Supermarkets. Kim Jeffery is president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America/Poland Spring Water Co