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星期一, 12月 15, 2014

PATRICK ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE FUNDING TO STRENGTHEN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TALENT PIPELINE


PATRICK ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE FUNDING TO STRENGTHEN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TALENT PIPELINE

AMHERST – Monday, December 15, 2014 – Building on the Patrick Administration’s historic commitment to strengthening the advanced manufacturing industry in Massachusetts, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki today joined Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rachel Kaprielian and State Senate Majority Leader Stan Rosenberg to announce nearly $2 million in funding to support manufacturing workforce training across the Commonwealth. The announcement was made at the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) Pioneer Valley Summit, held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“I am proud of the work the AMC has accomplished over the years, creating opportunities for workers with a range of skill levels that will strengthen our economy for years to come,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Bialecki. “Collaborative efforts like this are a critical reason why Massachusetts is leading the nation in growing a 21st century advanced manufacturing sector.”

Nearly $1.5 million of the total funding was awarded through the Advanced Manufacturing Pipeline Training Grants Program to support five regional workforce investment boards throughout Massachusetts. This funding will help recruit and train approximately 280 unemployed or underemployed participants for careers in advanced manufacturing. The grants program is a cross-secretariat initiative between the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The following organizations received funding:

·         Bristol Workforce Investment Board, $287,950: To implement machinist-training components at local vocational schools and Lean Improvement training provided by Bristol Community College. In addition, an intensive assessment, case management, job development and job retention effort will be integrated into partnership activities.
·         North Shore Workforce Investment Board, $415,000: To offer adults training at one or more of the community colleges in the region. Training will include mathematics and core manufacturing courses including OSHA, Microsoft and manufacturing fundamentals.
·         North Central Workforce Investment Board, $300,000: To incorporate assessment of mechanical aptitude and curricula to improve deficits, Work Keys curricula to improve remediation, communication and critical thinking skills, concepts of Lean manufacturing and OSHA safety training. The second component will train participants in advanced CNC operator training that also includes communication, Lean, OSHA safety, job readiness, on the job training, pre-apprenticeship certification and three college credits.
·         Hampden Regional Employment Board, $219,960: To conduct the Advanced Manufacturing Training Program, in partnership with the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association. Hampden Regional Employment Board will contract with local community colleges, part-time instructors from two vocational technical high schools and an advanced manufacturing company to train unemployed or underemployed adults of Hampden County.
·         Franklin/Hampshire Regional Employment Board, $276,705: To continue collaboration with employers from across the region, as well as community partners such as Greenfield Community College (GCC) , the two area vocational-technical school, and two adult education sites, to enable the regional employment board and GCC to offer three additional cycles of entry-level precision-machine training over the next two years in Franklin County. This will expand it from 220 hours to 300 hours, and add skill-building in the areas of blueprint reading, metrology, grinding, and lean manufacturing.


“The quick turnaround in awarding these grants reflects the urgency the Patrick Administration has adopted in scaling up these pipelines to help fill current job openings in advanced manufacturing all over the state,” said Secretary Kaprielian. “These awards will allow the grantees to build upon their proven successes and their capacity to work collaboratively through industry partnerships to increase the number of seats in their existing pipelines.”

“I am thrilled that the Franklin/Hampshire Regional Employment Board is receiving this grant,” State Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst) said. “For the last several years they have been out front in developing advance manufacturing training programs with higher education institutions and manufacturing in the region. This will help them continue their great work.”

Through a separate grant program, the Industry Training Capital Equipment grant program, also aimed at supporting the manufacturing industry in Massachusetts, Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton was awarded $400,000 to rebuild its precision manufacturing training program. With the support of over 25 regional manufacturing and workforce leaders in Hampshire County, the rebuilt training program will be a site for daytime students and evening adult-learners, in partnership with the Franklin-Hampshire Regional Employment Board.

“The unprecedented partnership between the private and public sectors has helped manufacturing to regain momentum in Massachusetts,” said Marty Jones, President and CEO of MassDevelopment. “MassDevelopment started the AMP it up! campaign to encourage young people to pursue advanced-manufacturing careers, and the Commonwealth’s investment will complement this effort to meet the workforce challenges of this growing sector.” 

In September, the Patrick Administration announced the launch of the Industry Training Capital Equipment grant program to expand support of training programs at career technical high schools and community colleges. The capital equipment program will fund large scale grants for the purchase of equipment to prepare students for careers in high demand industries such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, hospitality and mechanical and technical skills. The grant equipment program is designed to help improve the skills of students enrolling in these programs, increase the number of students who can access training and allow employers to have access to a greater pool of qualified talent.

Funding for the program is provided by the Commonwealth’s Capital Plan. The Patrick Administration’s five-year plan includes $10 million in funding for a grant program to benefit Massachusetts’s career technical schools and community colleges.

Massachusetts is home to over 7,000 manufacturers with 250,000 employees. The Patrick Administration is committed to supporting the growth of advanced manufacturing in Massachusetts, an industry that is expected to require 100,000 jobs in the next decade and offers careers in a sector with an average annual salary of $75,000.

In 2011, Governor Patrick launched the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC), a partnership between industry and government to help build a globally competitive manufacturing industry in Massachusetts. Its five-point agenda brings together manufacturers, educators, academia, and other organizations to work on industry-identified priorities including promoting manufacturing; workforce and education; manufacturing innovation; the cost of doing business including energy management and sustainability; and access to capital resources.

The AMC’s AMP it Up! Program, which launched in September 2012 and is operated by MassDevelopment, works to build awareness among young adults and their families on the opportunities for well-paying careers in manufacturing. Massachusetts-based nonprofit organizations that address education and workforce can apply for funding at www.ampitup.com. Across the Commonwealth in recognition of manufacturing week, the AMC engage manufacturers, schools and colleges to participate in open houses, public tours, roundtable discussions, career workshops and other events hosted by manufacturers.

In June 2013, Governor Patrick announced the creation of the Advanced Manufacturing Regional Partnership Academy, a first-in-the-Nation program designed to meet the manufacturing industry’s future workforce needs. The Academy provides hands-on learning opportunities, and tool and peer-education to regional leaders, helping eliminate one of the industry’s chief concerns of finding well-trained employees to fill available jobs in manufacturing.

This summer, Governor Patrick signed an economic development package that included $12 million for the establishment of the Middle Skills Job Training Grant Fund. The fund will provide grants to vocational-technical schools and community college to support advanced manufacturing, mechanical and technical skills, hospitality and information technology industries training. The fund aims to train 4,000 workers over the next four years to address the workforce and talent pipeline needs of employers in Massachusetts.

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