Today, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), the Workforce Skills Cabinet (WSC), and Commonwealth Corporation (CommCorp) announced $3,612,596 in grants awarded to support employers in training and recruiting Massachusetts workers for high-demand sectors like technology, healthcare, and manufacturing.
This final, year-end funding announcement for 2022 includes $3,223,710 in grants as part of the Career Technical Initiative (CTI), $88,886 in Scaling Capacity and Leveraging Employers planning grants (SCALE), and $300,000 in Replenishing Employer iNvestment in Education & Workforce (RENEW) training grants. These grant programs are administered by CommCorp on behalf of EOLWD and WSC.
“This final grant announcement for 2022 shows the continued commitment that we all have to training and development programs that create a more equitable workforce while helping employers across the Commonwealth,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta. “The Workforce Skills Cabinet’s collaboration across Secretariats has proven successful, providing access and opportunity to good jobs and career growth for countless constituents.”
“Addressing the skills gap in industries across the Commonwealth is critical to ensuring our economy continues to grow, our residents continue to thrive in great jobs, and our employers can find well-trained workers they need to power their businesses,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. “The Baker-Polito Administration’s Workforce Skills Cabinet is proud to make these awards to support a skilled workforce that can drive our economy forward.”
“These investments continue building a human capital pipeline in critical, high-demand occupations,” said Secretary of Education James Peyser. “Equally important, training programs are matched with real employer needs, so that graduates can move directly into the workforce.”
CTI grants expand training opportunities for young people and adults as part of the Administration’s multi-year effort to address skills gaps so more residents can pursue careers in growing industries and employers can hire qualified workers to grow their businesses.
The CTI grants in this round of funding are awarded to:
Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical School, Marlborough, $300,000: Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical School will provide training to 50 participants for HVAC, Plumbing, Welding positions. They will partner with Phillips Precision, Lincoln Tool, MAS Building &Bridge, Inc., Decco Inc., North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Henry Pacific Plumbing & Heating, K.M. Salsman Co. LLC, Larkin Hathaway Inc., and Future Plumbing Inc.
Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, Danvers, $600,000: Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School will provide training to 100 participants for Automotive Technician, Biomanufacturing Lab Technician, Carpentry, Electronic Mechanical Manufacturing, HVAC, Plumbing, Welding positions. They will partner with Acura of Peabody, Honda North, Kelly Automotive Group, Cell Signaling Technologies, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, New England BioLabs Inc., North Atlantic State Carpenters Training Fund, Groom Construction Co., Inc., Star Construction Company, Inc , Innovent Technologies, Harmonic Drive LLC, Electronic Mechanical, Salem Metal, Inc., Lake HVAC, Semper Mechanical, Breen & Sullivan Mechanical Services, Inc., Cranney Home Services, North Shore Mechanical Contractors, LLC, Cotter Brothers Corporation, and Krohn, Inc.
Greater Lowell Technical High School, Tyngsborough, $144,000: Greater Lowell Technical High School will provide training to 24 participants for Plumbing and Culinary positions. They will partner with Lenzi’s, NEW ERA Plumbing and HVAC, Marcoux Plumbing and Heating, Inc., Stones Hospitality Group, The Yolk Grill, Owen and Ollies, Primo Pizza and Restaurant, and Middlesex 3 Coalition.
Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, New Bedford, $180,000: Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School will provide training to 30 participants for Culinary, Automotive Tech, and Welding positions. They will partner with Toyota of Dartmouth, Alden Buick GMC, Colonial South Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, The Baker, Lanagan &Co., Inc, Destination Soups, Newport Restaurant Group, Bule Fleet Welding, Inc., East Coast Fabrication, Inc., Dartmouth Awning Co., and Teknikor.
Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District, Lexington, $360,000: Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District will provide training to 60 participants for Carpentry, Plumbing, and Welding positions. They will partner with North Atlantic States Carpenters Training Fund, Rolls-Royce Naval, Bradford White Water Heaters, and Sweeney DryWall.
Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Westford, $300,000: Nashoba Valley Technical High School, will provide training to 50 participants for Plumbing and Advanced Manufacturing positions. They will partner with Burkart Flutes & Piccolos, Domination Plumbing & Heating LLC, Generation NEXT Energy Pros, Keystone Precision & Engineering, Middlesex 3 Coalition, Milltown Plumbing & Heating Inc, and reMAke 4.0 Advanced Manufacturing Consortium.
Salem High School, Salem, $280,000: Salem High School will provide training to 40 participants for Building & Property Maintenance and Automotive Tech positions. They will partner with Bay State Muffler, Costas Hatzis, and AJ Carpentry.
Southern Worcester County Regional Vocational School District, Charlton, $579,710: Southern Worcester County Regional Vocational School District will provide training to 90 participants for Advanced Manufacturing, Culinary, HVAC positions. They will partner with A&M Tool & Design, Co., Allpoints HVAC, Angry Panda Food Co., CK Smith Superior, Dexter, FLEXcon, General Mechanical Contractors, Inc., Great Oak Pizza, Pine Ridge Country Club, and Primetals Technologies.
Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, Franklin $360,000: Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School will provide training to 60 participants for Manufacturing, Automotive Service Technician, and Culinary positions. They will partner with Leonardi Culinary Concepts, Vendetti Motors, and Tegra Medical LLC.
Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, Bourne, $120,000: Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, will provide training to 20 participants for Automotive Service Technician positions. They will partner with Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, O’Hara Motors, Inc., Toyota Falmouth, and Balise Ford of Cape Cod.
Funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) FY’21/FY’22, the SCALE grant supports the ongoing economic recovery and growth objectives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These strategic investments are part of the ongoing effort by the WSC to align public and private resources across the system and scale effective education-to-employment pathways that better position residents who want to be hired into jobs that businesses need filled.
The SCALE grants in this round of funding are awarded to:
Operation ABLE, Boston, $29,904: Operation ABLE will recruit, retain, and develop customer-facing Healthcare positions. They will partner with Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
MassMEP, Auburn, $29,612.44: MassMEP will build a sustainable training program for Manufacturing positions. They will partner with Catania Oils.
WeReach, Boston, $29,370: WeReach Boston will recruit employers to participate in a Cybersecurity apprenticeship program. They will partner with Bay State College and Inner-City Fund.
As part of the WSC’s overall upskilling strategy FutureSkills, the concept of the RENEW grant is to invest public resources in programmatic activities in ways that encourage employers to pay back into the fund and replenish the resources to lengthen the life of the fund. The fund supports education and training models that retrain unemployed individuals who are then hired by employers. This grant initiative is funded through an appropriation for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund through ARPA funding. Eligible lead applicants are a variety of entities with experience and existing capacity to recruit, train, support, and broaden job opportunities for job seekers. The partnership must include at least one training provider and one employer partner.
The RENEW grant in this round is awarded to:
Mount Wachusett Community College, Gardner, $300,000: Mount Wachusett Community College will provide training to 30 participants for Advanced Manufacturing/Production Technician positions. They will partner with Middlesex Community College and Insulet Corporation.
