The Healey-Driscoll Administration in Massachusetts has allocated over 10 million dollars worth of Career Technical Initiative (CTI) grants to 18 organizations, aimed at training 1,259 individuals for high-demand occupations according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. These grants, announced yesterday, will primarily target industries such as trades, construction, and manufacturing.
This state-funded CTI program seeks to give to adult learners, particularly those who are unemployed or underemployed from underserved groups, the necessary skills for fulfilling the needs of Massachusetts employers. To accomplish this, vocational high schools will operate as "Career Technical Institutes", conducting three shifts daily, and offering extensive career pathway programs according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Of such programs, Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll acknowledge the critical role they play in achieving workforce development goals and in expanding Massachusetts' skilled labor pool according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Echoing this sentiment were Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Lauren Jones, and Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. They both stressed the importance of this initiative's role in accessing solid vocational training, and in helping unrepresented communities acquire new skills consequently boosting the state's economic growth as stated in Mass.gov report.
Since its inception in 2020, the CTI program has awarded more than $16.8 million in funding to train the adults for in-demand jobs. To fulfill its ambitions, each proposal applying for CTI funding must be submitted with the commitment of a minimum of three Massachusetts-based employers ready to hire the program's graduates as stated in Mass.gov report.
