Baker-Polito Administration Awards $11.8 Million in Workforce Skills Capital Grants; Massasoit Awarded $495,000
Massasoit is one of 32 educational institutions receiving awards for equipment upgrades and expanded career and skill-building programs
March 6, 2017 – On Friday, March 3, the Baker-Polito Administration announced $11.8 million in Workforce Skills Capital Grants to 32 vocational schools, community colleges, and traditional public high schools, which will use the funds to purchase vocational technical equipment and expand skills training programs for careers in growing industries.
Massasoit Community College was among the awardees and received a $495,000 grant for an updated engineering lab that supports four engineering degree options: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical. This is the second Workforce Capital Skills Grant the College has received in the last year; in September, Massasoit accepted a $442,517 grant to support equipment and installation expenses for the new Veterinary Technology Clinical Instruction Facility on the Canton Campus.
Massasoit’s Engineering Transfer program targets soon-to-be and recent high school graduates with an interest in STEM, including students currently enrolled at Brockton High School with whom the program has a dual enrollment arrangement in Advanced Manufacturing/Engineering through the Youth Careers Connect Program. The program also targets the un- and under-employed adult population seeking careers in fields with anticipated vacancies and a higher-than-average living wage. This investment in Massasoit’s engineering lab will enable the College to increase the number of students who can be served by the program and expand the pipeline of area high school students who pursue an engineering career pathway.
“These investments have a major impact for the educational institutions training our workforce and the students who stand to benefit from enhanced skills and career paths,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Strengthening relationships between educational institutions and local industry as this program seeks to do is crucial to the success of our communities and Commonwealth as a whole.”
The Workforce Skills Capital Grants program was created by the Baker-Polito Administration last year to assist educational institutions in demonstrating partnerships with industry and aligning curriculum and credentials with local businesses’ demand, maximizing planning objectives and hiring or internship opportunities regionally.
“Massasoit has made great strides in expanding our programming in the STEM areas, and the launch of our engineering program in the fall of 2015 was a critical component,” said Charles Wall, president of Massasoit Community College. “We are grateful to the Baker-Polito Administration for recognizing the value of updating and modernizing our engineering lab space.”
To date, the Baker-Polito Administration has awarded more than $24 million in Workforce Skills Capital Grants to 63 different institutions, improving programs that impact more than 7,100 students per year. The economic development bill signed by Governor Baker last year includes $45 million for the awards over the next three years to increase the capacity and quality of vocational educational programs.
“The goal of these grants is to update capital equipment, expand capacity, and launch new programs at educational institutions in order to create high-quality career pathways for more people across the Commonwealth,” said Education Secretary James Peyser. “These grants give students and adult learners more opportunities to be successful through training, education and experience in fields that are growing and in-demand.”