Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal • April 25, 2016 www.wbjournal.com economic development plan, which is currently sitting in committee in Beacon Hill. Baker has called the work- force skills gap the single most signifi- cant threat to the state's economy. The bill, which asks for about $1 bil- lion in capital investments over the next five years, includes $75 million over five years to fund better equipment and FOCUS Workforce Development T raditionally, teen- agers based their high school choice on their post-grad- uation plans. Kids who want to go into a trade chose voca- tional education, while those who planned on going to col- lege chose schools that focused solely on academics. Research, however, suggests the line between the types of students who have tradition- ally attended the different kinds of high schools has blurred. BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Voke/tech new focus of skills gap According to a January study from the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, nearly 57 percent of vocational technical high school graduates in Massachusetts pursue second- ary education, compared with 78 percent of traditional high school graduates. High demand for vocational training is due in part to students becoming increas- ingly more aware of the value of combining academics with on the job training, as voke/tech schools do, said Timothy P. Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. "The students have a strong academic base, but they also have tangible skills – soft skills that are required to be a good employ- ee in today's work environment, like com- munications, working as a team, good work habits and showing up on time," said Murray, who also co-chairs advocacy group the Alliance for Vocational Technical Education. "From both of those perspec- tives, there's a growing awareness that it's a very valued commodity being produced in our state." At the same time, there is a concern that increased demand has caused students who have traditionally benefited from vocation- al training – including those who perform badly in traditional academic settings – get iced out. Government action As Massachusetts faces a lack of skilled workers to fill technical positions that will open up over the next decade, the message coming from the state is now extraordi- narily popular voke/tech schools are a big part of the solution. Better training for the commonwealth's future workforce is a cen- tral part of Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed Students at Worcester Technical High School work on projects. The high school recently received a $347,882 grant from the state to expand its veterinary assistant training program and for new information-technology equipment and clinical equipment updates.

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