Healey admin names 7 recipients of $3.5 million in workforce development grants

Gov. Maura Healey announced $3.5 million in grants for workforce development programs aimed at matching unfilled jobs with skilled workers in the state, a problem haunting economies across the country.

Seven initiatives were chosen as the recipients of a Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grant, Healey announced in Andover at the Greater Lawrence Technical School on Monday, alongside Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones and U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan.

“We were just down the way at Raytheon, actually,” Healey said. “And one of the things they talked about was the need, the real need, for this pipeline of workforce and talent.”

Funded through the state’s Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, the grants are awarded to organizations striving to increase residents’ access to steady, good paying jobs. The program specifically aims to remove barriers for those who might otherwise not be eligible or able to join skilled training programs, like adult students and those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds, and to increase the state’s competitiveness.

“These grants will connect Massachusetts residents who typically face higher barriers to obtaining employment with the vital training and skills they need to create a meaningful career pathway, while also helping to ensure that employers have access to the skilled talent they need,” Healey said. “Making the match between skills training and labor demand is critical for supporting our workers, employers, economy and competitiveness.”

Grant recipients in this round of awards include the Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston, awarded $1,000,000, and Health and Home Care Training of New England, granted $350,000, to cover certified nursing assistant and home health aide training for over 200 workers.

Holyoke Health Center is receiving $850,000 to provide dental assistant training for 60 people while the Greater Lawrence Technical School was granted $369,000 medical assistant training for 48 students.

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and its Education Foundation, will receive two grants worth $410,000 to provide food service, hospitality, and management training for 90; and BEST Hospitality Training was granted $500,000 to train 50 hotel workers.

The grants, according to the Healey Administration, are a “strategic investment in the Massachusetts workforce by developing programs that support individuals facing barriers to employment, such as lack of formal schooling, language barriers, or past involvement with the criminal justice system.”