May 15, 2008
MIT Students: Better Workforce Training Needed
Workforce development efforts in North Central Massachusetts are all over the map, and they need to get organized, according to a class of MIT graduate students.
The students presented a study on the area's workforce this morning at Fitchburg State College.
Over the past few months, the students from the university's Department of Urban Studies and Planning worked with the North Central Massachusetts Economic Development Council to study the issues facing area employers, particularly in the manufacturing industry. They found that many manufacturers have trouble finding employees with basic math, science and computer skills. Many employers also can't find training on subjects like lean manufacturing and hazardous materials handling in the region and must send managers elsewhere to take classes. Some also told the students that they wish state training grants could be used for tuition reimbursement at schools like Fitchburg State.
The students recommended that the NCMEDC and the North Central Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board work together on a new effort devoted to coordinating information on workforce training, finding new funding sources and organizing industry-wide training sessions in the area. The project would need its own full-time staff, they said. NCMEDC director Nancy Jackson said she hopes to act on the students' suggestions soon.
"This is not a study that's going to go on the shelf," she said.
The students presented a study on the area's workforce this morning at Fitchburg State College.
Over the past few months, the students from the university's Department of Urban Studies and Planning worked with the North Central Massachusetts Economic Development Council to study the issues facing area employers, particularly in the manufacturing industry. They found that many manufacturers have trouble finding employees with basic math, science and computer skills. Many employers also can't find training on subjects like lean manufacturing and hazardous materials handling in the region and must send managers elsewhere to take classes. Some also told the students that they wish state training grants could be used for tuition reimbursement at schools like Fitchburg State.
The students recommended that the NCMEDC and the North Central Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board work together on a new effort devoted to coordinating information on workforce training, finding new funding sources and organizing industry-wide training sessions in the area. The project would need its own full-time staff, they said. NCMEDC director Nancy Jackson said she hopes to act on the students' suggestions soon.
"This is not a study that's going to go on the shelf," she said.
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