Big bucks are flowing into Massachusetts' job training sector as the Healey-Driscoll Administration dishes out $5 million in Apprenticeship Expansion and Opportunity Grants. The hefty sum, announced by the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, will back 25 organizations in their quest to mint 1,000 new apprentices in booming fields like healthcare and clean energy, as reported by Mass.gov.
Revealed at The Community Group in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the bag of grants will train 50 childcare teacher hopefuls there, lighting a path to nation-recognized credentials and punching through barriers to industries thirsting for talent, the state funding, mingled with federal funds, takes aim at spurring economic mobility, and fostering affordability, equity, and competitiveness in the state's labor market.
Governor Maura Healey, pushing the envelope of historic investment, asserted that "Registered Apprenticeship provides jobseekers with hands-on training and hard skills that lead to a long-lasting, family-sustaining careers," widening the terrain of opportunities to underserved communities across Massachusetts and juice up key sectors.
Playing in tandem, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll extolled the grants' potential to unfurl more equitable career avenues while marching towards conquering workforce conundrums, these dollars aim to swell apprenticeship ranks statewide, grafting on new programs tackling multiple trades.
Boston's IBEW Local 103, celebrating an impressive 120-year legacy and fresh on the grant list, intends to power up the region with clean energy specialists following dedication from the Administration, Chris Sherlock, the training director, told Mass.gov "With this funding, our program will now train individuals from pre-apprenticeship to apprenticeship and lifelong learning as skilled technicians and electricians specializing in clean energy, helping evolve the sector and meet the growing demand for workers."
Echoing the impact on local economies, the MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board President & CEO David M. Cruise shared with Mass.gov, "Thanks to these Registered Apprenticeship grants we are now able to expand the reach and scope of our workforce services by increasing the number of healthcare workers recruited right here in Western Massachusetts," signaling a leap in uplifting local health care services.
The grants are part of an ongoing drive by the state to spark more apprenticeship setups; organizations still in the market for such funding can shoot their shot for Fiscal Year 2024. Any takers looking to get their slice of the work development pie or seeking out more info can hustle over to www.commbuys.com.
