Sustained Funding Needed For Training To Meet State’s Skilled Labor Needs

 

Photo credit: Commonwealth Corporation

According to a recent survey, two thirds of employers in Massachusetts have trouble finding workers with the right skills. That’s not surprising when you consider that one in three adults in our state have only a high school diploma or less. Not to mention, nearly one third of the state’s labor force is over the age of 55 and will be retiring soon. These are among the realities that combine to create a perfect storm, threatening the stability our statewide economy.

The good news is that Massachusetts has two funding mechanisms to help address these issues: the Workforce Training Fund (WTF), a $22M fund supported by employer-backed contributions from Unemployment Insurance for incumbent worker training, and the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF), a proven sector-based training model that has served hundreds of employers with qualified talent. The bad news: funding for both has decreased over the years, and only one of these has a sustained annual funding stream.

SkillWorks Welcomes 2018 Grantees!

2018 is here and somehow we’re already one month down!? We’ve had a flurry of new and exciting endeavors going on here at SkillWorks, and even more to share from our partners and friends throughout our network! Before we launch into the rest of this season’s latest news, we’d first like to welcome our newest 2018 grantees — some old, some new, all doing exciting and important work!

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Job Training and Financial Literacy

What does it mean to be economically self-sufficient? To be financially stable? Many of us hear those terms, or something similar, and learn of their importance starting from an early age and may even get some exposure to tools and tips from family, teachers or mentors, but studies show that nearly 70% of Americans are not financially literate. So we’re talking about a LOT of people who aren’t getting the financial literacy knowledge they need to understand or manage their finances.

Major Investment in Boston’s Talent Pipeline Announced at TechHire Boston’s 3rd IT/Tech Forum!

Co-conveners of the TechHire Boston employer consortium, SkillWorks and the Boston Private Industry Council (Boston PIC), hosted the third and final IT/Tech forum on Monday, June 19th, 2017. The Greater Boston education and workforce development community gathered with IT/tech industry leaders in a packed space at District Hall to discuss strategies to engage and prepare local talent to meet the growing demand for IT/tech professionals. Mayor Walsh and the Boston Foundation’s Paul Grogan also joined us to announce unprecedented new investments in workforce development to grow the pool of talent and raise the level of candidate preparation from high school through college and into career. Check out the press release below for more information!

Participant Highlight: Rizel Bobb-Semple

At just 21 years old, Rizel Bobb-Semple has already attained various postsecondary credentials, worked in healthcare and IT, is currently working toward an Associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems at Bunker Hill Community College, and is starting an exciting internship at HubSpot this spring!

She attributes many of her accomplishments to the training and postsecondary programs she participated in, like Hack.Diversity, of which SkillWorks is a proud supporter. And her connection with SkillWorks doesn’t stop there, having also participated in other funded programs in healthcare and IT – showing that she’s in the driver’s seat of her education, purposefully taking advantage of opportunities to learn about, explore, and enter into the career pathway that’s right for her.