Massachusetts Workforce Board Association

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State House and Capital Hill Update

 

Governor Patrick Appoints Joanne Goldstein as New Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development

The Association Welcomes

Secretary Goldstein

Read official announcement

Youth Employment

Read NYT editorial with CLMS Director Andrew Sum on Youth Employment

NYTimes 12/22/09

 "The House’s jobs bill includes some commendable  employment provisions for young people. But what’s needed, Mr. Sum and others say, is a broader, coordinated stimulus plan that would reach disengaged inner-city teenagers who are increasingly being left out of the economy."

    Read the CLMS Paper:

 

YOUTH SOLUTIONS ACT OF 2009 - H3696

Read proposed legislation: An Act establishing a youth workforce system in the commonwealth.

Legislative Hearing Held! See Youth under On-Going Initiatives for more details.

 

Clean Energy

President Barack Obama joins Governor Deval Patrick in Massachusetts to promote the nation's clean energy agenda

The President remarked at MIT that:

"This is the nation that harnessed electricity and the energy contained in the atom, that developed the steamboat and the modern solar cell. This is the nation that pushed westward and then looked skyward. We have always sought out new frontiers and this generation is no different. This is the nation that has led the world for two centuries in the pursuit of discovery. This is the nation that will lead the clean energy economy of tomorrow, so long as all of us remember what we have achieved in the past and we use that to inspire us to achieve even more in the future."

 

 

New Reports

Job Vacancy Survey list more than 54,600

openings

 

Business hiring declined sharply in Massachusetts during the fourth quarter of 2008. Only 54,600 jobs were posted in the state during the fourth quarter of 2008, a 40 percent drop from the same quarter the year before.

 

Massachusetts Jobs
(Seasonally Adjusted) Graph of MA seasonal employment for the past year

Month Year Employment
Nov 2009  3,173,600
Oct 2009  3,175,300
Nov 2008  3,256,300

Source: EOLWD

What's New

 

Former Secretary Suzanne Bump is Recognized by the Association

Suzanne Bump receives the Association Crystal Eagle Award from Chairman William Tinti and Immediate Past Chair John Lipa at the Quarterly Meeting December 15, 2009. The Meeting focused on the Film Industry and had presentations from Nicholas Paleologos (Mass Film Office), Joseph DiLorenzo (Plymouth ROCK Studios) and Mark Carey (Quincy Film Bureau and Discover Quincy).

 

Read recent WORKFORCE OPEDs

Critical Need for Teen Jobs

Don't Freeze Workforce Training Fund

Stop Economic Tsunami

 

Association Next Quarterly Meeting, March 4, 2010, will focus on the workforce opportunities in the clean energy and green jobs sectors in Massachusetts and be held at Greenfield Community College Downtown Campus. To register go to rsvp@massworkforce.com

 

ARRA UPDATE

Congressman John Tierney and USDOL Assistant Secretary, Jane Oates, Hold "Listening Session" on WIA Reauthorization at Merrimack College

 

Massachusetts Workforce Board ARRA UPDATES

Workforce Boards, local elected officials and regional partners have begun planning with the Commonwealth for implementation of new ARRP workforce education and training resources. Contact your local WIB

 

Read what workforce development means for Massachusetts families...PDF

 

Mass Workforce Data

Read Labor Market Information from the Commonwealth's Regional Strategies Initiative

 

 

Unemployment Rate
(Seasonally Adjusted) Seasonal unemployment graph for the past year in MA

            MA        US

Month Year  MA   US 
Nov 2009 8.8% 10.0%
Oct 2009 8.9% 10.2%
Nov 2008 6.1% 6.8%

           

 

 

Association Overview

The Massachusetts Workforce Board Association is a business-led organization that represents the members of Massachusetts 16 regional workforce boards, and provides leadership in developing a collective vision of the workforce development system in the Commonwealth. The Association's members include employers, representatives of labor, higher education, business and industry associations, economic development and workforce organizations. read more...

 

What is a Workforce Board?

Massachusetts's Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) are providing workforce development leadership in their communities. The business-led WIBs have the critical role of governance and oversight of the federal and state resources that support the regional network of One-Stop Career Centers and education and training investments in their regions. Workforce Board membership consists of private-sector businesses, working in concert with labor, education and the public sector to design effective demand driven workforce development services for job seekers and employers. To keep businesses competitive and to sustain economic growth WIBs:

  • Identify changing workforce needs as part of the regional economic development strategy;
  • Develop strategic responses to the labor market and industry;
  • Work to build a comprehensive workforce system in response to the demands of the marketplace, workplace and workforce;
  • Focus on accountability, customer satisfaction and measurable results. Visit your regional WIB

 

Message from the Chairman

Business-led Workforce Board regional partnerships are the key elements necessary for the ultimate success of  the Commonwealth's economy and competitiveness. Combining leadership from the business, labor, non-profit and educational sectors, the Boards are able to craft the workforce solutions that are meaningful and effective for each region.  Our members and partners have been busy over the past several months working to respond to the significant challenges posed by the current economic recession. Under the leadership of President Barack Obama and the United States Congress, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will help our workforce system train thousands of people and help put people back to work. Key workforce training provisions are included in the Act. Governor Deval Patrick, and his labor and workforce team, led by new Secretary Joanne Goldstein, Commonwealth Corporation President/CEO Nancy Snyder and Department of Workforce Development Director Michael Taylor have been working closely with Workforce Boards and Chief Elected Officials to effectively implement ARRA.  In partnership with the Legislative leadership, we anticipate significant new training investments and youth summer and year round jobs. The Health Care, Life Sciences, Green Jobs and Energy and other sectors provide new and expanded opportunities for job growth and training resources are being targeted toward these industry sectors.

The Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board's Performance Accountability Committee is an important vehicle to address the need for dramatic changes in the current workforce system and respond to the needs of the 21st century workforce. As recent reports indicate, we are facing significant challenges in responding to the more than 54,600 job vacancies with unemployment rate in November at 8.8%; now more than 302,400 people are officially unemployed. (See jobs and unemployment data and read the 4th Quarter 2008 Job Vacancy Survey PDF) The Association members have been working to better connect Massachusetts’s employers and job seekers to the workforce development system. Many innovative answers to workforce problems have been developed by the regional Boards. The Association seeks to build on the work of the Boards and to assist its members to more effectively respond to industry labor market gaps and workforce needs Read more...

 


Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board Areas

 
Berkshire
Franklin/Hampshire
Hampden
North Central Mass
Central Mass
Greater Lowell
Metro South/West
Metro North
North Shore
Merrimack Valley
Boston
Brockton
Bristol
South Coastal
Greater New Bedford
Cape and Islands
 

 

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