BILLERICA – Celebrating October as Manufacturing Month, the Baker-Polito Administration today awarded $11.9 million in Workforce Training Fund Program grants to 121 Massachusetts companies, spurring workforce training of nearly 7,000 workers and creating over 1,000 projected new jobs in the Commonwealth.
“The evolving manufacturing sector and new, innovative technology continues to provide successful careers for Massachusetts’ workforce to support their families,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are excited to see these funds put to work creating over 1,000 new jobs and providing additional manufacturing skills to 7,000 workers that spur personal and economic growth for our families and communities.”
“This program is a highly effective catalyst for job creation in manufacturing and we look forward to the growth in skills and success for these 121 companies and their employees,” said Lieutenant Governor Karen Polito. “Workforce Training Fund grantees have added jobs at more than double the statewide average, helping to close high demand skills gaps in the Commonwealth and provide new jobs for residents.”
The Workforce Training Fund provides grants of up to $250,000 to companies in Massachusetts to pay for employee training over a two-year period. Grants are awarded to projects that will upgrade workers’ skills, increase productivity, and enhance the competitiveness of Massachusetts businesses. Grants are matched dollar-for-dollar by the award recipients.
The Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Rosalin Acosta, noted, “An important part of our job is to make sure more of our businesses of any size are able to access this great resource. Over the past two years we have increased the number of small businesses served significantly and now over 84% of the businesses served by the Workforce Training Fund are small businesses.” The Workforce Training Fund is a program of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and is administered by Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-public state agency that fosters partnerships between industry, education, and workforce organizations.
Lt. Governor Polito and Secretary Acosta made the announcement today at E Ink Corporation, an innovative producer and developer of electronic paper display technology with origins in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media lab. E Ink is known for producing the ePaper display most commonly found on eReaders, and has diversified into new markets, including signage, architecture and design, mobile, wearable and retail markets. Their headquarters are in Billerica and they have a production facility in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Simon Nip, Chief Financial Officer of E Ink Corporation, remarked, “The Workforce Training Fund is helping E Ink to invest in our workforce so that our employees have the skills and training they need to succeed in Massachusetts. At E Ink we know our greatest asset isn’t just the technology we produce, but the people who help produce that technology.”
Since the beginning of the Baker-Polito Administration, the Workforce Training Fund has awarded more than 400 grants totaling over $43 million to train more than 31,000 workers from over 600 different Massachusetts businesses. This is expected to result in over 3,700 new jobs. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and Commonwealth Corporation hopes to encourage businesses to address workforce training needs through the Workforce Training Fund. Interested parties are encouraged to visit WorkforceTrainingFund.org to learn more.
The two Westfield companies receiving funds are, Peerless Precision, Inc., which was awarded $55,230 to train 23 workers with an expectation of 1 additional job to be added by 2019, and Precise Turning and Manufacturing Co. who was awarded $29,890 to train 7 workers with 1 additional job expected to be added by 2019.
