Karen Andreas, president and CEO of the North Shore Chamber, has signed onto a letter from the Massachusetts Business Coalition on Skills advocating in support of efforts to reskill the workforce of today and tomorrow.
The Mass. Business Coalition on Skills is made up of 27 diverse business organizations that support strengthening workforce skills development programs and policies.
The letter to Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, offers support for a total of $38 million in line items in the FY 2023 budget to fund work-based learning opportunities, support essential skills development and enhance Career Vocational/Technical Education.
The coalition urges the legislature to maintain the proposed funding levels and adopt Amendment #334, which would require Career Technical Institutes Reporting. The new amendment would require the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to submit a report on vocational technical schools that are operating career technical institutes. With this reporting requirement, the coalition says, critical information regarding the impact of the CVTE on employment outcomes will be shared to help improve the future of technical skills training.
Andreas says the Mass. Business Coalition on Skills’ efforts dovetail with The Chamber’s 2022 focus on supporting workforce needs, issues and initiatives.
Read the full letter here.