In partnership with National Skills Coalition, the Skills2Compete-Massachusetts campaign seeks to raise awareness of the need to train Massachusetts residents for middle-skill jobs, which require more than high school but not a four-year degree. These jobs make up the largest portion of Massachusetts' labor market. Prior to the recession, Massachusetts was already experiencing shortages of middle-skill workers in crucial industries. With high unemployment throughout the nation, this is precisely the time to ensure Massachusetts is training the middle-skill workforce that will be critical to economic recovery and long-term success.

Key Partners

Leads
SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce
Workforce Solutions Group

Core Advisors

1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Fund
The Boston Foundation
Boston Private Industry Council
Crittenton Women’s Union
JVS - Boston
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
Massachusetts Business Roundtable
Massachusetts Communities Action Network
The Massachusetts Community Colleges
Executive Office

Massachusetts Workforce Alliance
Massachusetts Workforce Board Association
Massachusetts Workforce Professionals
Association
MassINC
Northeastern University Center for Labor
Market Studies
The Strategy Group
Year Up
YMCA Training, Inc. - Boston

Major Efforts

Filed the Middle Skills Solutions Act in January 2011, groundbreaking legislation that seeks to increase credential attainment and wages for Massachusetts workers. Click here to learn more.

In September, the Skills2Compete-Massachusetts campaign hosted a Gubernatorial Forum on Investing in Jobs and Opportunity. All four candidates were on hand to share their perspective and ideas for shaping Massachusetts’ economy through workforce development and job creation policy. The event was moderated by Peter Howe of New England Cable News and featured a journalist panel. View photos, watch media coverage, and listen to the candidates themselves.

With National Skills Coalition, released Massachusetts' Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs in July 2010, generating widespread media coverage.

Through its message and vision the campaign has attracted a broad range of endorsers, from labor to education to business, showing that this is an issue that resonates statewide.

Publications and Resources

Publications:

Investing in Jobs and Opportunity
SkillWorks and The Workforce Solutions Group
July 2010

Download Platform

Massachusetts' Forgotten Middle-Skills Jobs
National Skills Coalition, SkillWorks and The Workforce Solutions Group
July 2010

Report | Press Release

Audio Briefings:

Listen to audio clips from a press conference about the release of Massachusetts' Forgotten Middle-SkillJobs report.

Introduction and Report Overview | Jessie Hogg Leslie, Senior Regional Field Director, National Skills Coalition
Campaign Lead | Loh-Sze Leung, Director, SkillWorks
Organized Labor Perspective | Tim Sullivan, Director of Communications and Government Relations for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Employer Perspective | Suzanne Bruhn, Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning and Program Management, Shire Pharmaceutical
Community College Perspective | Kate Sweeney, Dean of Health Careers, Middlesex Community College

Legislation:

Middle Skills Solutions Act, Introduced January 2011 | Download Fact Sheet

Additional Resources:

Skills2Compete-Massachusetts Website