Worcester Business Journal

Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com 2016 Economic Forecast 13 M A N U F A C T U R I N G & T E C H N O L O G Y Manufacturers have lamented a lack of quali- fied workers to assume the jobs held by those that are set to retire, and the state has stepped up to support workforce training programs to fill the void. The Baker Administration is funding appli- cations for advanced manufacturing training pro- grams, focusing specifically on the unemployed to prepare them for jobs in the state's advanced manufacturing cluster. Manufacturing to see more workforce, biomanufacturing efforts BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer M anufacturing and technology are strongholds in the Central Massachusetts economy, and business leaders continue to underscore the importance of supporting the sectors, which have significant crossover. State-led efforts to boost workforce preparation and local biomanufacturing, along with ample growth potential in Asia, could continue to drive opportunity for both sectors in the year ahead. Continued investment in training Kamal Rashid, the director of WPI's Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center, stands in front of a group receiving training on troubleshooting and root-cause analysis. Investments by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center have helped grow the field in Central Mass. While the life sciences industry in Central Massachusetts may never rival that of Boston and Cambridge, there is opportunity for the sector to grow in the region, particularly in the area of bio- manufacturing. Local stakeholders have made the case for the region as a hub for biomanufacturing, and Travis McCready, CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, has said infrastructure and real estate assets in Central Massachusetts make the region ideal for it. A push for biomanufacturing China's economy may be lagging, but local companies, like Mevion Medical Systems of Acton and RXI Pharmaceuticals of Marlborough, continued to announce partnerships and investment deals as well as important milestones in China and other Asian countries this year, and that will likely continue as Asian economies mature and consumerism grows. n More Asian ventures T O P M A N U FAC T U R I N G & T E C H N O L O GY S T O R I ES O F 2 0 1 5 M ount Wachusett Community College has partnered with the Worcester County Sheriff 's Office to bring education and workforce training to inmates. It's an effort to give inmates direction — well away from jail — once they're out. "Providing post-secondary correc- tional education as well as workforce training is the most effective path to reducing recidivism and keeping ex- offenders from returning to prison," Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis said in a statement. He said that educational preparation is second only to addressing substance abuse during incarceration in preparing inmates for a productive life. Using a state grant, Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) and the sheriff 's office will offer a program aimed at getting prisoners ready for col- lege or for jobs, including jobs in advanced manufacturing. The Bridges to College program at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction program will begin in January, the col- lege announced. The $79,000 grant that will fund the program is from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, and expands on existing programs offered by the sheriff 's office. Those include adult basic education, life skills and English as a second language. The initative also builds on advanced manufacturing industrial readiness training programs offered at MWCC. W ith its hybrid of open spaces and an educated workforce, Central Massachusetts is set to reap the rewards as the state's bio- manufacturing initiative kicks into its second phase. "I'm really proud that the common- wealth has a hybridized scenario like Worcester," said Travis McCready, who took over as CEO of the semi-public Massachusetts Life Sciences Center in September. "There continues to be den- sity, and you have the institutions neces- sary in Worcester to support a right- sized R&D outpost, but importantly you also have the training, workforce devel- opment and skilled talent as well as real estate to support manufacturing opera- tions that will support different kinds of jobs." The state has been in the midst of a push for expanded life sciences since the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center was founded in 2008 with $1 billion in state Inmates to get 'new beginning' through MWCC education Central Mass. to benefit from Life Sciences 2.0 P H O T O / S A M B O N A C C I

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