Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 22, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 25 Now is the time for entrepreneurship V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L e region already has a decently strong foothold in startup culture with incubators like Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives and WorcLab, supporting organizations like the Venture Forum and SCORE, and networks like the Small Business Development Center at Clark University. row in the new arrival of Lowell organization Entrepreneurship for All, or EforAll, which specializes in helping those from underserved populations, and you see the formation of a robust system for helping innovative ideas become successful businesses. For this system to truly be successful, it needs the collective talent and brainpower of the entire business community, which is why it is incumbent upon Central Massachusetts leaders to provide their services to these organizations. Beyond just volunteering on boards and taking would-be entrepreneurs under your wing (which is also very important), this means these organizations and the startups they create need funding and investment to stay viable over the long term; and they need professionals like lawyers, accountants, and marketers to help them navigate the economic landscape. With unemployment hitting the double digits during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic and still nearly triple its pre-pandemic levels, many talented Central Mass. professionals are out of work and looking for the next step forward. At the same time, the pandemic has changed the economy, too, with a next-level need for innovation to solve a whole new set of challenges. is is a strong recipe for a significant increase in new startups and economic solutions, and with a strongly supported entrepreneurship ecosystem, Central Massachusetts could emerge from this year-long crisis as a leader in nurturing young companies. We just have to step up. All the pieces are here in Central Massachusetts: the talent, the experience, the drive to be the best, the leaders who can show the way. If we can bring it all together, the end result of this pandemic will be Central Massachusetts emerging stronger than it was before. The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. Businesses & education must increase partnerships in 2021 T he year 2020 has become the measure for what awaits businesses in 2021, and higher education is playing a pivotal role in this new landscape. Taking center stage in this new environment is the working from home phenomenon. COVID has forever changed the face of business. e new year will bring about more ways to do business remotely, and in order to remain successful, employers and employees must have the skill sets necessary to adapt to this new online business frontier. is is where higher education will take center stage. Since the start of the pandemic, we have witnessed companies redefining their place in this changing landscape. To help meet the demands of a new marketplace, higher education had been adopting new modes of educational delivery. At many community colleges, workforce development and continuing education departments offer career, cor- porate and professional development training. Today, new educational models such as the professional development subscription-based, all-you-can-learn education model are being introduced. ese models enable employers and indi- viduals to receive training on their own time and duration in areas ranging from Microso office suite to manufac- turing. Employee so skills will become more valuable for businesses moving forward, as skills such as time manage- ment and managing the virtual workspace can mean the difference between a business succeeding or failing. Cyber security and privacy risks will be on the increase. In 2021, there will be a strong market demand for cloud security skills. Colleges and universities offer educational pathways to cyber security programs paying back big divi- dends to both employers and employees. While automation has already been steadily increasing, the pandemic has now forced companies to stay up-to-date with technology, as we have moved to a more virtual busi- ness format. According to the website TechHQ.com, more than a third of today's workforce may require retraining due to automation. Higher education and, more specifically, community colleges can play an important role, offering courses, one-year robotics certificates to two-year associate degrees focusing on process automation and robotics. As 2020 brought our global marketplace to its knees, 2021 will be a time for businesses to look more locally in selling their goods and services. Strategizing early on can mean the difference between a business succeeding or failing should there be a disruption in international trade. Customized professional development courses will enable companies to retrain employees to meet changing needs. e new year promises to see a closer relationship be- tween business and education as companies look to higher education to get them where they need to be in 2021. Katheen Manning is dean of center for workforce development and continuing education at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. BY KATHEEN MANNING Special to the Worcester Business Journal Katheen Manning W W A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y R A M Ó N L . S A N D O V A L N ew business startups thrive in times of stress and change, making this – hopefully, the back end of the coronavirus pandemic – the time the Central Massachusetts business community can bring its resources to bear to support our newest entrepreneurs.

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