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SkillWorks News: February 2013
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Policy Update: FY2014 Budget, Pathways Bill and More
At the end of January, Governor Patrick released his FY2014 budget, and SkillWorks and partners kicked off the new legislative session with a few new bills filed in support of workforce training. Read on!
Governor Deval Patrick proposed comprehensive transportation investment and education plans in his 2013 State of the State address. He's also gathering legislative leaders to discuss revenue proposals, including an increase in the state income tax and a decrease in the state sales tax.
The Governor's House 1 Budget recommendation includes a number of recommendations to improve training and education opportunities in the Commonwealth. Review the WSG FY14 Budget Chart.
Pathways for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency
The bill proposes a pilot program to equip low-income families for long-term economic stability and enable low-income adults and teens with dependent children to attain education and/or skills training for jobs in high-demand occupations. Read the Pathways FAQ.
Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund & High Demand Scholarships
Two important components of our advocacy last session--funding for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund in support of middle-skill job training and an increase in scholarship aid for students in high-demand fields, were passed and are now being implemented!
Following the passage of the Jobs bill last August, which included $5 million for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund in support of middle-skill pathways, Commonwealth Corporation released an RFP and is now reviewing proposals. Awardees will be notified in April 2013.
The Office of Student Financial Assistance is currently reviewing over 5,000 applications received for the Massachusetts High Demand Scholarship Program, which will award about $2,000,000 to students studying in high demand fields this year. We'll be continuing to advocate for this type of funding, especially to support low-income, adult students.
Read more about the Workforce Solutions Group's advocacy efforts in the Boston Globe!
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SkillWorks Funder Profile: The Clowes Fund, Inc.
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Beth Casselman, Executive Director, The Clowes Fund, Inc.
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The Clowes Fund, Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, has supported SkillWorks since 2007. SkillWorks recently spoke with executive director Beth Casselman about her thoughts on the value of being part of the SkillWorks initiative and funder collaborative.
Why did the Clowes Fund decide to invest in SkillWorks?
The Clowes Fund invested in SkillWorks to leverage the impact of its workforce development dollars in the Boston area.
What has the Fund learned from its participation in SkillWorks?
Since the Fund is based in Indianapolis, we have learned about the Boston area economy, workforce development needs and best practices from SkillWorks. Really, everything we ever needed to know about middle skills and industry sector programs, we learned through SkillWorks.
What do you think has been the most surprising, gratifying, or interesting outcome so far?
The most gratifying outcome so far has been seeing the result of SkillWorks' public policy efforts. Private foundations are limited in the extent that they can influence public policy; SkillWorks has the knowledge, expertise and perseverance to engage public policy dialogue and inspire positive changes.
What are you most excited about in terms of the future of SkillWorks?
My office in Indianapolis is a mere three blocks from the Indiana State Capitol; yet through SkillWorks, my reach extends effectively to the Commonwealth. I'm excited to continue learning from and with SkillWorks; I'm excited by the prospects of a middle skills workforce trajectory boosted by SkillWorks!
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Capacity Building Highlights: New Coaching Toolkit
On January 8, 2013, SkillWorks held a workshop on Coaching for College and Career released a toolkit for practitioners on the topic, with the help of the City of Boston, Boston Private Industry Council, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. The toolkit is full of templates and other tools to help coaches working students, with a special focus on adults, transition to and complete post-secondary education.
Download the Coaching for College and Career Toolkit
If you missed the first session, SkillWorks is holding a second workshop on April 9 from 8:30-12 at the Boston Foundation. The workshop is free but registration is required, and we encourage you to sign up early, as space is limited. All attendees will receive a copy of the toolkit.
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Participant Profile: Courtney Galvez
 | | YU Grad and Bunker Hill student Courtney Galvez |
Courtney Galvez, a student at Bunker Hill Community College, recently earned his CISCO Systems CCNA Certificate. In doing so, Courtney became the first of our college navigation coach Zeida Santos' clients to earn a post-secondary certificate, and we look forward to celebrating many more!
Courtney, who is a graduate of the Year Up program and an employee at at Atlas Venture, providing desktop support, plans to finish his AS and then transfer to a four-year college. "I want to be a good example to my son," says Courtney. "And I'm also excited to give back by mentoring other kids as a Big Brother."
Courtney was able to transfer 12 credits from Year Up to Bunker Hill and then with Zeida's help, identify the right classes for his schedule, skill set, and interests. Zeida also helped Courtney see the value of pursuing and completing a short-term, stackable credential. Says Courtney, "Zeida...made this journey manageable and the words of encouragement lifted me up when I was down. I hope more young adults are willing to take of advantage of the program as well. I do spread the word! I look forward to to continue working with everyone and thanks again." |
Quick Partnership Highlights
Healthcare Training Institute:
On December 17, 2012 ten employees (100% of program participants) who work in Clinical Coding at Boston Children's Hospital celebrated their graduation from an intensive year-and-a-half long program designed to prepare them for the upgrade of the International Classificatio n of Diseases (ICD) from ICD-9 to ICD-10 in 2014. Boston Children's Hospital (BCH), in collaboration with JVS Boston and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) and SkillWorks, created a full year-and-a-half training program to prepare their clinical coding staff for the changes.
This model is now being explored by other departments at Children's Hospital and presented to other hospitals. The success of this program is a true testament to the power of collaboration and innovative planning for the constantly evolving demands of the healthcare workforce.
Hotel Training Center:
Part of SkillWorks' Social Innovation Fund support to the Hotel Training Center was directed at upgrading the partnerships' digital literacy and technology services to participants. This quarter, efforts in this area leaped forward, with greater integration of technology into all classes, increased pre and post testing of digital literacy, and continuous dialogue with employers about technology training needs for line staff. Interested in the tools they're using? Check out:
http://www.digitalliteracyassessment.org/
http://www.typingweb.com/
http://www.edmodo.com/about
Year Up Financial Services Partnership:  Year Up held an Employer Champions Group breakfast in November at the Harvard Club on the subject of tuition advancement programs. The group invited Karen Schoch, manager of workforce development at Boston Children's Hospital to share about her institution's work in this area. It was compelling to see employers from different SkillWorks partnerships and industry sectors sharing learnings and building connections.
As we shared in our last newsletter, SkillWorks' support is allowing participants to earn OSHA10 and OSHA30 certifications, which employers have said are important for gaining employment. In the last quarter, two participants who earned these certifications with YBB obtained employment in the construction industry. Congratulations to Karla for becoming a Construction Apprentice at Northeast Interior, Inc. and to and Christian for his new job at MP Masonry.
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Weekly Workforce Roundup
Did you know that SkillWorks does a weekly round-up of workforce news funding opportunities, research and resources?
We've just migrated the blog to a new address: http://www.skillworks.wordpress.com.
Please bookmark the new address, and thanks so much for following us!
Sign-up to receive weekly updates from the blog! |
And the secret ingredient is...  Guests at the SkillWorks New Year's celebration were lucky enough to sample the sweet and salty bacon-wrapped treats made by Mary Cronin, Hotel Training Center's culinary instructor. The room was certainly buzzing with guesses about what was wrapped inside--pineapple? scallop? mango?The answer might surprise you--it was pickled watermelon rind!Just for fun, we asked Mary to share her simple recipe so you can surprise your guests at a future event! - 20 pieces of pickled watermelon rind (bite size chunks-about the width of a slice of bacon)
- 10 slices of maple bacon, cut in half to make twenty half-slices
- toothpicks
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Wrap each piece of bacon around a piece of pickled watermelon rind, secure with a toothpick and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until bacon is browned and crispy. Enjoy! |
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Mbarka Hamdi, Hotel Training Center participant, Bunker Hill student, and new employee at the BCEC, celebrates the new year with SkillWorks!
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Director's Remarks | |
Last month, in what has become SkillWorks tradition, we celebrated the new year with funders, grantees, and partners with a lovely bash at the Hotel Training Center.
The appetizers prepared by culinary students, a new signature SkillWorks mango "mocktail," and lots of good company were a perfect way to ring in 2013. But the highlight for me was definitely hearing about the impact of our work on participants' lives.
Mbarka Hamdi, above, came to the Hotel Training Center after her small business went under. At the training center, she discovered her love of and talent for cooking. With help from her career coach and SkillWorks' college navigation coach, she enrolled in the culinary program at Bunker Hill Community College. Last summer she completed an internship at a restaurant in Belgium, and she expects to graduate with her AA degree this spring. Just last month, Mbarka was hired as a cook at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, a great start to building a career she loves!
What's amazing and inspiring to me is that there are literally hundreds of stories like Mbarka's in the SkillWorks community, of people who just need an opportunity and a little support to unleash their ability and desire to succeed.
THANK YOU for helping to provide that opportunity and support.
Loh-Sze Leung
Director
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Metech Recycling's president, Chris Ryan, hosted a group of workforce development and recycling industry folks for a tour of his facility in Worcester.
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Industry Spotlight: Recycling
Last April, SkillWorks released a report on jobs in the recycling industry in Massachusetts. As a follow-up to that report, SkillWorks has helped convene a Recycling Jobs Taskforce to bring together industry and workforce folks to address training and hiring needs.
The first in-person meeting of the taskforce was hosted by Chris Ryan, president of Metech Recycling, in Worcester.
Not only did the group get an insider's tour of the recycling plant, but we also heard about Workforce Training Grant and other funding opportunities for industry training and discussed next steps for collaboration.
The taskforce will issue a brief report in March 2013. For more information, please email skillworks@tbf.org |
Watch this short student-produced video on SkillWorks' college navigation efforts!
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SkillWorks Funders
The Barr Foundation BNY Mellon The Boston Foundation Chorus Foundation The City of Boston's Neighborhood Jobs Trust The Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Garfield Foundation The Hyams Foundation The Clowes Fund, Inc Mabel Louise Riley Foundation Microsoft Corporation National Fund for Workforce Solutions Nellie Mae Education Foundation Perpetual Trust for Charitable Giving, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee A.C. Ratshesky Foundation State Street Foundation Surdna Foundation United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley U.S. Department of Labor, through Jobs for the Future SkillWorks would like to welcome the A.C. Ratshesky Foundation to the Funders Group and thank the Hyams Foundation and Boston Foundation for renewing their funding commitments since the last newsletter! |
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SkillWorks Partnerships
Chinatown Green Collar Career
Pathways Initiative
Emergency Medical Careers
Partnership
Energy Efficiency Technician
Apprenticeship Program
Healthcare Training Institute
Hotel Training Center
Partnership for Automotive
Career Education
Workforce Solutions Group
Year Up Financial Services
Partnership
YouthBuild Boston Green
Construction Program |
 | Save the date for the 10th annual Commonwealth Workforce Coalition Conference on May 9!
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About SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce
SkillWorks is an ambitious effort on the part of philanthropy, government, community organizations, unions, and employers to respond to Massachusetts' workforce crisis. SkillWorks' goal is to create a workforce development system that helps low-skill, low-to-moderate income residents move to family-sustaining jobs and helps employers find and retain skilled employees. It is the largest public/private investment in workforce development in Boston's history.
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