WESTFIELD – Governor Deval Patrick’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki announced a $1.5 million state funding boost to help enhance manufacturing training programs around the Commonwealth Monday.
The Hampden Regional Employment Board will receive an 18-month grant worth $219,960 that will kick into effect in July 2015 to conduct an advanced manufacturing training program in partnership with the western Mass. chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association.
The funding will go toward contracting local community colleges, part-time instructors from two vocational-technical high schools – including Westfield Vocational-Technical High School – and an advanced manufacturing company to train unemployed and underemployed adults in Hampden County.
Jeffrey Amanti, a production manager for Westfield’s Advance Manufacturing of Turnpike Industrial Road, appreciates the support of the Patrick administration, but believes programs of this nature are merely the first step toward a career in this rewarding yet challenging industry.
“Skilled labor is something that’s very key to our industry and it takes a lot of training to get guys to work on these aircraft and defense industry parts that we have in this region,” said Amanti, whose family has owned Advance Manufacturing since 1961. “It is not something you learn overnight. It takes a real skillset that needs to be developed, so it’s real important to train people on these parts and how to run the machines.”
David Cruise, president and chief executive officer of the Hampden Regional Employment Board (HREB), said Monday that he hopes the board can train 55 unemployed people in Hampden County over the course of the year and a half long program, a timeframe that Amanti believes will provide a good springboard to further education and job training programs.
“It takes years and years to learn these skills, so it will give them a good base to further their education, either at a technical community college or some on the job training,” he said. “It will give people an introduction into what manufacturing is and they can really build off that.”
It is highly unlikely a person will jump straight from one of the HREB’s training programs to the floor at Advance in 18 months. Amanti reiterated the benefits of pursuing a career in this industry, which the state is hoping will grow like a weed in the coming years.
“These guys have been learning this trade for years and years and it sounds like (the programs) will be a great stepping stone that hopefully can attract some good, talented people looking for a job change,” he said, adding that industry veterans enjoy good salaries and benefits.
“Employers take care of their employees, because these skills are so hard to develop,” Amanti said. “But once you get them, you get them. You will be a sought-after employee. It is great that (the state) is trying to get more people involved in it and we really appreciate that they’re doing that. It means a lot to us.”
