WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
For businesses, travelers and residents alike, the North Central Massachusetts region offers the opportunity to experience New England at its finest. For any business seeking that desirable combination of infrastructure, transportation, top-shelf workforce, affordable cost of living and quality of life, North Central Massachusetts has it all. Add in the intellectual resources provided by some of the nation’s top colleges and universities and it’s easy to see why Massachusetts provides fertile ground for business growth. The North Central region can take advantage of all the business-supporting resources of Greater Boston and Worcester while offering attractively priced commercial and industrial real estate. Housing is more affordable here, too, with choices ranging from antique homesteads in pre-Revolutionary villages to historic farms, custom homes and modern condominiums.
School-To-Career- it's for everyone!
School-To-Career is based on the premise that education works best when students can connect their academics to the world of work, their future careers and their daily lives. It encourages high academic achievement, provides high skill development and promotes life-long learning.
School-to-Career is intended for every student – regardless of individual or cultural barriers. Students who want to be doctors, novelists, engineers or firefighters can each benefit from a “test drive” of their potential choice outside the classroom.
Making this new vision of education come to life in our community requires the involvement of many North Central Massachusetts and Greater Gardner employers, parents, students and community organizations.
Our Partnership includes students and teachers from:
Gardner
Murdock
Oakmont
Narragansett
Leominster CTE
Fitchburg
Clinton
Nashoba
Quabbin
North Central Charter School
Stetson School
Lunenburg
Fitchburg Alternative High School
Monty Tech
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The Partnership has provided:
- Onsite opportunities to identify and develop critical workplace skills
- Access to additional industry resources, expertise and experience
- Opportunities to work with employers in developing contextual learning programs and curriculum
This is your chance to impact the career choices of more than 9,000 students in the Greater Gardner area!
Benefits to Students:
- Brings relevance to academic subjects
- Applies academic principles at the workplace
- Identifies and develops critical workplace skills
- Increases/enhances academic performance
- Motivates excellence in academic subject areas
- Provides exposure and experience in a real-world setting
What Does This Partnership Offer You as a Business Owner?
► Strengthens links between learning and work
►Improves/increases community relations
► Provides opportunities to get involved in education reform
►Enhances employee morale and productivity
► Develops highly skilled, motivated workers
► Reduces/eliminates training needs & turnover
►Provides ability to shape your future work force.
The Business Capital Assistance Website for the City of Gardner Area
http://www.open4business.us/gardner/Default.aspx
Gardner Redevelopment Authority The GRA also offers loans to eligible small businesses in Gardner in amounts from $25,000 to $1 million at rates lower than the market rate, floating and fixed, for a term of up to 25 years. This loan program, the GROW GARDNER FUND, is offered in partnership with the National Development Council's Grow American Fund, Inc. that is part of the U.S. Small Business Administration's 7(A) Loan Guarantee Program. http://www.gardner-ma.gov/redevelopment.html |
Greater Gardner CDC Grants to cover some of the cost of technical assistance are available to businesses, not to individuals. With certain exception explained below, you must have established your business at least six months previously and have a goal of building it into a full-time, self-supporting entity. Depending upon the funding source, grant funds may be limited by number of employees (20 or fewer for one source, 50 or fewer for another source), and in some cases be grossing under $1 million annually and located in a qualifying geographic area. All businesses in the CDC's service area are geographically qualified as are most businesses in North Central Massachusetts. Most businesses served by the CDC employ fewer than 20 and gross under $500,000 annually. We assist many micro-business owners with five or fewer employees and gross annual incomes of under $250,000. |
WORKFORCE TRAINING GRANTS Created by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Plan is a evaluation tool used to develop skills necessary to enter the work envirornment and allows students to understand and improve on employer expectations. |
Construction Career Days This event is a great opportunity for juniors and seniors in high school to learn about the wide variety of career paths possible in the construction field. The event is a hands-on career exposure forum for high school students, with construction equipment for the students to try out, design challenges to figure out, and skilled volunteers from many construction disciplines to talk to the students about their career, the skills they use every day and the technical knowledge and professionalism necessary to perform their job. |
Department of Education Connecting Activities (CA) is a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education initiative designed to drive and sustain the statewide school-to-career system. Working in partnership with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, it establishes public-private partnerships through the 16 local Workforce Investment Boards to connect schools and businesses to provide structured work-based learning experiences for students that support both academic and employability skill attainment. Department of Education/Connecting Activities
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Workforce Investment Board The North Central Workforce Investment Board is a private non-profit corporation designated by the Governor to serve as the local workforce investment board for the north central region under the Federal Workforce Investment Act. |