Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 27, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 3 A Business Revolution is booming in North Central Massachusetts North Central Massachusetts is Revolutionary! T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 12 Focus on North Central Massachusetts 17 List: Largest North Central Mass. employers 18 Know How 19 Guest Column: Joshua Croke 20 Movers & Shakers 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: NXT Level Studios 8 Strengthening United Way's impact The new executive director of the United Way of South Central Mass. seeks to boost the organization as community needs rise. 18 6 THINGS I know about ... Why it's the best time to be an independent filmmaker in Central Mass. Advice columnist Angelo Padin, owner of Hollywoo Studio, details the ways the region is emerging as a hub of moviemaking. Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi- weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Managing Editor, Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, manufacturing) Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (health care, diversity & inclusion) Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Giselle Rivera- Flores, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator, Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com H igher education has had a bit of a rough time this decade. Largely the result of a demographic dip in the number of high school graduates – but also because of concerns over costs and politics – nationwide undergraduate enrollment is down about 7% from 2019, according to the nonprofit Education Data Initiative. So, it has been encouraging to see a rise in enrollment at key Central Massa- chusetts institutions over the last year or two, such as at Worcester State University and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. For the current school year, no school saw an enrollment spike higher than Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, where headcount rose 20%. As WBJ Staff Writer Mica Kan- ner-Mascolo writes in this edition's cover story "Enrollment surge" on page 14, this spike has been fueled by Massachusetts state programs essentially making com- munity college free to attend. e challenge now before MWCC, QCC, and other higher ed institutions is to retain these new students and make sure they are supported in their efforts to obtain degrees and start careers. MWCC President James Vander Hooven in the "Enrollment surge" story says this includes ensuring students' personal needs are met, so issues like food insecurity or child care don't derail their educational progress. A highly educated workforce is key to a thriving economy. is has been a staple of the Central Mass. economy for generations, and it is encouraging to see government and higher education officials committed to furthering education for the next genera- tion or more. While college doesn't have to be for everyone, an increase in the number of well-educated workers will greatly bene- fit the region's ability to innovate and grow a well-oiled business community. is is true locally and nationally. Even though college enrollment has dipped in the 2020s, educational attainment has in- creased steadily across the country over the past century. In 2020, the portion of people with a high school diploma or higher set a then-record of 91% while the portion of those with a bachelor's degree or higher hit a then-record of 38%, according to EDI. Preliminary data for this decade released by Education is key to everything I N T H I S I S S U E the U.S. Census Bureau in 2023 shows those numbers are at least holding steady. Despite all the other noise, this is encouraging. – Brad Kane, editor W CORRECTION: The Best of Business award profile in the Jan. 13, 2025, edition on the Beechwood Hotel in the Best Venue for a Corporate Event category incorrectly said the hotel has 1,000 employees. The correct number is 100.

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