BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MA – The Berkshire Workforce Skills Cabinet, co-chaired by MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board, 1Berkshire and Berkshire Community College, met on Tuesday, December 18th. They continued their work on developing and executing strategies to create improved mechanisms and track meaningful metrics of success for the Berkshire workforce. Joining them for this meeting was Jay Ash, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, who brought with him updates from the Baker Administration. North Adams Mayor Bernard, State Representative John Barrett III, A.J. Enchill from State Senator Hinds office, and Lisa Udell-Fletcher from State Representative Farley-Bouvier’s office were also part of the conversation.
In discussion with the cabinet members, Secretary Ash noted that the work being done by the Berkshire cabinet and the other six cabinets from across the Commonwealth is directly impacting the work done at the state level. Resource allocation and sets of best practices developed through this process will be used to help sustain and grow workforce skills training programs and to help strategize the best use of available resources going forward. The board provided additional insights as to the challenges they face in terms of attracting and retaining mid-level professionals in the region. This allowed them to begin to frame out options for meaningful data collection for both a baseline and ongoing collection of data so as to chart the impact of their collective work. In February 2019, the board will have their aggregated asset map and baseline metrics set to begin tracking the impact of actionable work.
Heather Boulger presented updates on a number of joint applications that have been received to assist the manufacturing and hospitality/management sectors with upcoming training opportunities and highlighted several strategies that are being expanded upon. Visit masshireberkshire.com for more information.
About the Berkshire Workforce Skills Cabinet
The Berkshire Workforce Skills Cabinet is part of the Commonwealth’s statewide initiative to align economic, workforce and education systems to coordinate regional efforts based on skill needs in regions. The Cabinet consists of representatives from the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board, 1Berkshire, Berkshire Community College, General Dynamics, Berkshire Health Systems, Main Street Hospitality Group, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Hillcrest Educational Systems, Pittsfield Public Schools, McCann Technical School, Berkshire Compact, Berkshire United Way, Jiminy Peak, and Berkshire Community Taconic Foundation.
About 1Berkshire
1Berkshire is a county-wide organization focused on economic development and promotion of the region as a preferred place to visit, to live, and to grow a business. It provides programs that connect businesses with each other and with potential customers, as well as works to develop future leaders and support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit 1Berkshire.com.
For more information, contact:
Heather Boulger, Mass Hire Berkshire Workforce Board Executive Director
(413) 442-7177 x 150
Heather@MassHireBerkshire.com
