WESTFIELD – To the casual observer, it may look like Massachusetts is losing its political influence and industrial might, that the Bay State, is no longer “The Spirit of America” as its red, white and blue license plates claim.
While the Commonwealth’s representation in US House of Representatives has steadily declined over the last 40 years to its current number of nine, due to population spikes outside of the Commonwealth, recent actions of state officials and lobbyist groups on Capitol Hill may force the casual observer to have their vision checked.
Thanks to a $5.7 million grant issued by Governor Deval Patrick Thursday, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is looking to recommit itself to training a more capable and skilled workforce to engineer a technological revival in Massachusetts, a state long noted worldwide for its education and innovation.
The grant, entitled the Workforce Training Fund General Grant Program, is looking to disperse the $5.7 million to 72 Massachusetts-based companies in 50 cities and towns statewide, providing for the training of over 5,600 current and newly hired employees. The grants, which are for up to two years, serve as a resource for businesses to increase the skill set of their incumbent employees and provide valuable training to the workers. As a result of these awarded grants, participating companies project to create 414 new jobs by the end of 2015.
In Westfield, two companies, Boise Cascade Building Materials Distribution LLC and Peerless Precision, Inc., will be receiving a combined $89,730 in state funds to train 74 current employees between the two companies, while also projecting to create four new jobs. Boise Cascade was awarded $55,200 to train 56 employees and to create three new jobs. Peerless Precision was awarded $34,530 to train 18 employees and to create a new job.
“The Workforce Training Fund offers employees the ability to learn new skills and expertise that allows their employers to compete more effectively in their respective industries,” said Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Joanne F. Goldstein in a statement Thursday.
The grant is the latest step in the Patrick administration’s aggressive push to reinvigorate the manufacturing industry in the Commonwealth, adding onto the more than $10 million it has already issued to almost 120 manufacturers over the last two years alone.
This is music to the ears of Former State Representative James T. Brett, current President and CEO of the New England Council, who made an appearance in Hampden County last Wednesday as the featured guest speaker for the Affiliated Chambers of Greater Springfield’s annual luncheon at the Sheraton in Springfield.
“We have the potential to add 8,000 new jobs in manufacturing, with an average salary of $80,000 a year.” Brett told the ACCGS last week.
“The manufacturing industry is set to have 100,000 job vacancies open up in Massachusetts over the next ten years,” he said, relaying economist’s projections from the New England Economic Partnership (NEEP), while also saying that the average wage for a manufacturing position in Massachusetts is currently $75,000 a year. “Massachusetts has experienced four consecutive years of expansion, and has recovered from the economic recession of 2009 faster than the United States during this time.”
The former representative also cited statistics, gathered by NEEP, which indicate the Bay State has experienced a 2.4 percent increase in “real growth state product” and a payroll growth rate of 1.3 percent.
NEEP economists believe that Massachusetts holds “tremendous potential” for growth in the manufacturing industry, which currently makes up eight percent of the state’s total workforce. Based on a 2010 report generated by Brett’s New England Council, the need for a highly skilled workforce in New England has drawn the attention of Washington.
A network of public and private research institutes, the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, was proposed in President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget in early 2012, and was formally introduced by the President in March of last year.
The Obama administration called for a joint federal effort between the Departments of Defense and Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, to create a network of 15 regional Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation that year, to be funded by a one-time investment of $1 billion and carried out over a period of 10 years. The President requested an additional $1 billion for his FY 2014 budget, indicating a national effort to increase emphasis on manufacturing and other training in the technological arena.
Locally, this comparatively small state grant is going to make an impact for two companies in Westfield.
“It’s wonderful, because (manufacturing) is here (in Massachusetts). It’s here to stay and it never really left,” said Debbie Maier, President of Peerless Precision, Inc. on Mainland Drive.
Maier, whose family ran a company that manufactured bobbins and wooden spools in Lawrence, is excited to utilize the funds to train employees for the company.
“Manufacturing is helping to revitalize the state and Westfield, as well,” she said.
“It’s a sweet spot for Massachusetts,” said Brett. “These jobs are here, and through funding for training, as well as Vocational Technical education in our high schools and community colleges, we want to keep them here.”
