AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine officials want to know which jobs businesses have a hard time filling.

The Department of Labor’s Center for Workforce Research and Information is sending a survey to 3,500 Maine businesses this month. Officials hope the results will help the department tailor its worker training programs to ensure Mainers have the skills they need to get open jobs.

Employers are being asked about job openings this month and whether the positions are tough to fill.

Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette says the survey will give officials more information about where and to what extent Maine businesses see the “skills gap,” or when employers can’t find workers who have the knowledge or skills for a particular job.