Welcome to the Workforce Roundup! Below is the last couple of weeks of workforce news, resources and updates.
This week’s action alert relates to asking MA state representatives to include language supporting pre-apprenticeship training programs in the Transportation Bond Bill (H3882/S2023) as it moves through conference.
PLEASE contact your state representative and ask him or her to speak to House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey, and House conferees: Transportation Chair William Straus, and Representatives Stephen Kulik and Peter Durant about supporting this language in the final Transportation Bond Bill passed by the House-Senate conference committee.
The Senate conferees are: Sens. Tom McGee (D-Lynn), Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) and Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth). Please also take a moment to ask your Senator to contact Senate conferees in support of this language.
There’s lots more below. Please add anything we missed by using the “comments” field.
Workforce in the News
- Mayor Walsh makes push to get struggling teens summer jobs (Boston Globe, March 24, 2014)
- House bill would set aside $60M in Mass. employers’ funds for workforce training (Boston Business Journal, March 23, 2014)
- Candidates for governor offer views on vocational education (Boston Globe, March 20, 2014)
- Worcester a model for Boston’s only vocational school (Boston Globe, March 20, 2014)
- MassDevelopment helps provide $16.2m for revitalization of Downtown Worcester (Boston Globe, March 18, 2014)
- Leveraging Up Summers on Campus; Avoiding Lost Opportunities (New England Journal of Higher Education, March 18, 2014)
- Former Reebok chairman dedicated to giving homeless tools for success (WCVB-TV, March 11, 2014)
- Reinvigorating America’s Greatness Through National Employment Policy (Huffington Post, March 5, 2014)’
- Melody Barnes on Closing the Skills Gap (Politico, March 5, 2014)
- How On-the-Job Training Can Help Close Manufacturing Skills Gap (Industry Today, March 4, 2014)
Research and Reports
- Scaling Stackable Credentials: Implications for Implementation and Policy (CLASP, March 2014)
- Implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (National Fund for Workforce Solutions / CareerSTAT, February 2014)
Tools and Resources
- STEM Activity App – a new app from Wheelock College that delivers engaging activities to families, teachers, and elementary school students around the topics of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
- FREE Financial Coaching, courtesy of MassSaves – a new resource connects MA residents to free one to one financial coaching on a variety of topics.
- StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org – a new online resource to advance state policy to increase higher education completion
Funding Opportunities
- Commonwealth Corporation released the RFP for implementation grants from the Healthcare Workforce Transformation Trust Fund.
- Commonwealth Corporation is pleased to be seeking applications from employers, training organizations, labor organizations and intermediaries throughout Massachusetts for grants of up to $250,000 from the Workforce Training Fund General Program for investment in employee training.
- English for New Bostonians released a new RFP for English for Speakers of Other Languages, Due May 5.
- MA Executive Office of Administration and Finance released a Pay for Success solicitation for Adult Basic Education Intermediaries.
- Ready to Work Partnerships – This federal initiative will utilize approximately $150 million in revenues from the H-1B visa program to support high performing partnerships between employers, non-profit organizations and the public workforce system that will help provide long-term unemployed individuals with the range of services, training, and access they need to fill middle and high-skill jobs. USDOL expects that a solicitation for applications for these grants will be available in February and awards will be made in mid-2014. The SGA was released on February 19, and more information can be found here.
Upcoming Events
- April 3, 2014: Workforce Budget Browser Launch Event and Policy Briefing– SkillWorks
- April 4, 2014: Network 2014 – Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education Annual conference
- April 7, 2014: Multi-industry Job Fair – Asian American Civic Association
- April 10, 2014: Youth Pathways Advocacy Day – Workforce Solutions Group
- April 10, 2014: Disrupting the Poverty Cycle -Crittenton Women’s Union 2nd Annual Conference
- May 1, 2014: Sharing Skills~Building Connections – 11th Annual Commonwealth Workforce Coalition Conference
SkillWorks 