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July 2016 - In This Issue:
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On May 3rd, the U.S. Department of Labor approved a
National Dislocated Worker Grant award for $1,040,264 to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The funds will provide reemployment services to individuals impacted by the closures of A. H. Notini and Sons, Inc. and Cobham Sensor Systems, both located in Lowell, and Courier , Inc. in Westford. The closures took place within a six-week period from August 2015 to October 2015.
The project will provide the full array of comprehensive dislocated worker services to the affected individuals, with an additional focus on training in the high growth sector of advanced manufacturing. Participants at the Career Center of Lowell will enroll in certification programs such as Computer Numerical Controlled Machinists and Advanced Manufacturing Electronics. Training in these fields will qualify participants for high-demand, high-wage jobs in the area.
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On July 5, 2016 the
Top 5 Greater Lowell Employers with job openings are:
- Kronos
- Raytheon
- Parexel
- Red Hat
- EMD
The
Top 5 Job Titles are:
- Software Engineer
- Senior Software Engineer
- Administrative Assistant
- Customer Service Representative
- Driver
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New Career Center Executive Director
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The GLWDB is happy to announce that Shannon Norton Calles, who had been serving as the Interim Executive Director of the Career Center of Lowell, was named to the position permanently.
Shannon has previously held the titles of the Assistant Director and Fiscal Director at the Career Center of Lowell.
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WIOA Update: OSCC Letter of Intent
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WIOA requires that each workforce development area procure One-Stop Career Center Services by July 1, 2017.
To begin this process, the GLWDB is issuing a request for Letters of Intent (LOI) to gather information from organizations that may be interested in applying for the upcoming Request for Proposals (RPF) to become the One-Stop Operator/Service Provider for the Greater Lowell Region. The RFP is scheduled to be released late summer/early fall. Download the LOI below.
To learn more about WIOA please utilize the following resources:
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Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts released the latest Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment numbers for
May 2016
. In the Greater Lowell Area
150,185
workers were in the labor force, of which
144,179
were employed and
7,174
were unemployed. The unemployment rate was
4.0 %
, down almost 1% from the previous month
.
Statewide, in May, Leisure and Hospitality was the only sector to experience over the month job gains.
Nationally, total non-farm payroll employment rose by 38,000 in May. The unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 4.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Job growth occurred in health care. Mining continued to lose jobs, and a strike resulted in job losses in information.
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July 5, 2016
Total Job Postings:
133,261 Greater Lowell Job Postings: 4,290 Visit MASS JobQuest |
In Massachusetts, many jobs can be accessed through registered apprenticeship programs. No longer just in the traditional trades, t
here are over 850 jobs in a wide range of industries that can be learned through apprenticeship training. For more information visit the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Apprentice Standards website.
The GLWDB, in partnership with the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium (NAMC), will assist in recruiting up to 72 apprenticeship trainees for positions in manufacturing including industrial technician, machine operator, assembler and machine set-up operator at 15 advanced manufacturing employers.
NAMC will receive a portion of a $2.9 million grant to fund the Massachusetts Apprenticeship Initiative (MAI) through the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Department of Career Services.
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According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, t
he political organizations industry-which includes political parties, political action committees (PACs), political campaign organizations, and political organizations and clubs that are engaged in promoting the interests of national, state, or local political parties or candidates-employs only a small portion of the U.S. workforce. Between January 2001 and September 2015, employment in political organizations has ranged from around 5,000 to over 20,000.
For more information view the full report.
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Workforce Training Funds for Local Employers
On
June 24, 2016 t
he Baker-Polito administration announced more than $8.47 million in Workforce Training Grant funds to 101 companies, which will enable the businesses to train current or newly hired workers. Two
Chelmsford companies were among those awarded:
- Teleflex was awarded $126,900 to train 122 workers
- Spectro Scientific, Inc. was awarded $242,400 to train 118 workers, 12 additional jobs expected by 2018
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and Commonwealth Corporation hope to encourage businesses to address workforce training needs through the Workforce Training Fund. The fund awards more than $1 million each month, on a rolling basis throughout the year. Interested parties are encouraged to visit
www.commcorp.org/wtfp
to learn more.
Young Adult Summer Employment
The GLWDB/CCL Young Adult Summer Employment Program begins July 7th and ends August 17th. At least
265 youth will be employed at more than
60 work-sites throughout the City of Lowell.
Youth participated in 10 hours of work readiness training to prepare them for their jobs. Youth will be paid
$10 an hour and work up to 25 hours a week.
This project is funded by the YouthWorks program through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The program is administered by the Commonwealth Corporation.
The Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium Pipeline Outreach Program (NAMC POP) concluded in June. The MA Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development funded-project helped the four NAMC Workforce Areas (North Shore, Merrimack Valley, Metro North and Greater Lowell) recruit individuals from underrepresented populations into careers in manufacturing.
The initiative was designed to provide insight into manufacturing career pathways and place individuals into training and employment. More information on the success of NAMC POP will be available on our website.
AMP It Up - Advanced Manufacturing Promotional Grant
A number of quality manufacturing training programs for machining and electronics are available in our area and graduates are being interviewed and hired; but the demand remains high.
In order to help meet this demand, in May GLWDB staff presented information about advanced manufacturing careers at the Lowell High School Options Fair and the Tewksbury Memorial High School Job Fair. This work was supported by a grant from MassDevelopment for outreach to guidance counselors and their students.
Full-Service Community Schools/Career Academy
On Friday's in May and June, Career Center and WDB staff facilitated work-readiness training for 8-10 students at the Lowell High School Career Academy. Students worked on career awareness and exploration; communication skills and other topics to prepare them for their summer work experience.
Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium - Fall Advanced Manufacturing Training Session
The next round of advanced manufacturing training, in partnership with Middlesex Community College and Greater Lowell Technical High School, begin on October 18, 2016. Twelve
Machining Trainees and
12 Electronic Technician Trainees will be preparing for jobs in an industry that is looking to filled high-paying, skilled positions. To date more than 100 individuals have been trained under the consortium.
GLWDB Annual Meeting
On June 23rd the GLWDB held its annual meeting. Highlights included a presentation by Jennifer James of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Ms. James discussed WIOA and the emphasis on regional planning, competitive procurement of career center services; cross-agency coordination and serving priority populations.
GLWDB highlights included:
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In-School Youth and Out-of School Youth shift in funding
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FY17 Interim Local MOUs
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Customer Centered Design Challenge
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OSCC Procurement
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Regional Planning
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Youth Job Fairs - Lowell High School And Tewksbury High School
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Summer Jobs Program - 265 jobs (with an additional 15 pending)
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Financial Literacy Project
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EOHED NAMC POP- 35 placed in training/outreach to 100+
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AMPitUP
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NAMC Training Cycle 7 - MCC September 2016
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Grants
Customer-Centered Design Challenge
The GLWDB and the Career Center of Lowell are participating in a State and National Competition to study and improve on the process
first-time customers go through at the career center and make recommendations for improvement. Activities include c
lass assignments and brainstorming (customers and partner staff.) The career center has been recognized as a "
Top Contributor" and "Frequent Flyer" during the current round of the competition. Career Advisor Stacey Thompson was asked to present in a webinar on behalf of the Career Center of Lowell. Winning teams travel to Washington, D.C. to be recognized by the Department of Labor.
GLWDB Chair Receives Appointments
GLWDB Chair Ray Wrobel, Vice President at Align Credit Union, was appointed to the
Massachusetts State Workforce Board and that board's WIOA Assessment Subcommittee.
GLWDB Hours of Operation Change
The GLWDBs hours of operation changed on June 14th. We will now be open until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday nights and we will close at noon on Fridays. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday our hours will remain 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In addition, the Career Center of Lowell will be extending its hours of operation on Tuesday nights to 8:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday their hours will remain 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
FY17 & 18 WIOA Youth Vendors Selected
At the June 23rd GLWDB Annual Meeting, upon the recommendation of board members who volunteered to read and score WIOA Youth Program Vendor Proposals, the full board voted to fund three Out-of-School Youth programs:
- Middlesex Community College/Career Center of Lowell
- Community Teamwork, Incorporated (YouthBuild)
- United Teen Equality Center
One In-School Program was also funded:
- Lowell High School P.A.L.S. Mentoring Program
The GLWDB is contracting with vendors for two years with a review after the first year. This is a change from previous contract years and allows for more focus on meeting performance outcomes. A minimum of 75% of WIOA funding MUST be dedicated to Out-of-School Youth programs, while 25% must be dedidicated to In-School Youth programs and 20% of the total WIOA allocation received by the GLWDB must go to paid to work experience.
Connecting Activities FY16 Update
In FY16 (July 2015 - June 2016) the Connecting Activities program staff met with 446 students from Lowell High School, Greater Lowell Technical High School, Dracut High School and Tewksbury Memorial High School. Students were referred to part-time jobs.
As of July 6th, 54 students have been confirmed hired.
Youth Job Fairs
458
students attended the job fair at Lowell High School on May 5th and 64 employers participated from industries such as hospitality, food service, banking, retail and health care.
On May 10th a second job fair was held at Tewksbury High School. 100 students attended and 20 employers participated.
As of July 6th, 63 students have been confirmed hired from the job fairs.
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Sharply dressed students at the annual job fair at LHS.
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On June 1, The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced that Haverhill, Lowell, Pittsfield, Springfield, and Worcester will each receive $475,000 in the second round of the Working Cities Challenge, a competition for smaller cities in New England focused on building collaborative leadership, which is shown to be a critical element in economic growth for struggling postindustrial cities.
In Lowell, the Acre Initiative will focus on three high-level factors that can alleviate the multi-generational poverty entrenched in the Acre, Lowell's poorest neighborhood: low educational attainment, lack of employment opportunities and family-sustaining wages, and the complex issues of diversity and inclusion. The Acre Initiative's team represents a mix of partners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors including the City of Lowell, Coalition for a Better Acre, Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, Lowell Community Health Center, Career Center of Lowell, The Lowell Housing Authority, Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, Inc., Greater Lowell Community Foundation, Community Teamwork, Middlesex Community College, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, and the Acre Coalition to Improve our Neighborhood (ACTION).
Financial Literacy Pilot
The GLWDB and the Career Center of Lowell were chosen by the US Department of Labor's New England Regional Office to receive technical assistance for the creation of a financial literacy curriculum for youth employment programs. With the assistance of a federal contractor the WDB and CCL, along with youth programs in Bangor, Maine and Essex County, New Jersey, will expose youth to banking, budgeting, investing and other topics and make use of traditional and online tools to plan their financial futures.
On June 21st and June 29th, a first-ever Bank Fair was held for 270 students enrolled in the GLWDB/CCL Summer Employment Program for Youth. Youth were given training in choosing banking services and them met with representatives from seven local banks and credit unions. Getting "Banked" at an earlier age leads to improved savings rates and financial success as youth grow older.
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Students shop for bank accounts at the first-ever bank fair.
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GLWDB & Career C
enter of Lowell Events
- August 23, 2016 - Lowell Spinners' Job Fair, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., LeLacheur Park, 450 Aiken Street, Lowell, MA, 01852
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STAY CONNECTED
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