Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com April 25, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 13 education at voke/tech schools and com- munity colleges that create partnerships with employers to address the skills gap. The proposed funding builds on a $9 million Skills Capital grant program launched in December, administered by the governor's Workforce Skills Cabinet. The economic development bill also includes $118 million for a new initiative geared towards advancing manufactur- ing statewide. Recommendation basis The direction of the governor's Workforce Skills Cabinet is informed by Dukakis Center research as well as other studies, said Paul McMorrow, a spokes- man for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. The study found voke/tech schools often compete for funding with other schools in the towns they serve. Voke/ tech schools are about 50 percent more expensive to run than typical public schools because they constantly need new materials, equipment and safety equipment, the study found. However, despite higher costs, demand for voke/tech schools is up even as demand for traditional high schools has gone down. One-third of the state's 351 communities are not served by voke/tech schools, and that as of Oct. 2015, about 3,200 students were on a waiting list to get into such schools, the study found. In fact, voke/tech and traditional high schools are increasingly attracting stu- dents who want to graduate and then go on to college. Worcester Technical High School received a grant of $347,882 out of the $9.3 million the state initially gave out in Skills Capital grants. Principal Kyle Brenner said the measures of success at voke/tech schools have changed. "If you're familiar with the old voca- tional education, they might say you're not doing your job if the kids are going onto a two-year or four-year school," he said. At Worcester Tech, a graduate is >> G R E E N B U S I N E S S Accu-Clean Inc. "When Impressions Count" We're on top of the details! 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Community college funding deficit A second Dukakis Center study, this one on meeting workforce needs in the commonwealth, found the majority of future job openings between now and 2022 will be replacements and require less than a four-year degree. The Skills Capital grant program is available to community colleges. The presidents of Worcester's Quinsigamond Community College and Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner said they are focused on filling skills gaps in various fields and were disappointed to find little money set aside for their institutions and others in the governor's fiscal 2017 budget, which is separate from the economic develop- ment bill. "It's a bit of a disappointment given that we have high expectations for our students, and we have a ways to go in terms of ensuring everyone that comes to us can be prepared for math, science, communications skills, and to be part of a high-expectations workforce," said Gail Carberry, president of QCC. At a tour of Quinsigamond's new QuEST Center for STEM education late last month, state Commissioner of Higher Education Carlos Santiago acknowledged the fiscal 2017 budget was a lean one for community colleges. Those schools, he said, do much of the heavy lifting in terms of training the workforce. While community colleges will prob- ably never have all of the resources they need to completely fill the skills gap, the key to making the most of new resources is investing in equipment that can be used by more than one school, said MWCC President Dr. Daniel Asquino. Central Mass. Skills Capital grant award recipients, fiscal 2016 School Community Grant Use Source: Office of Governor Charlie Baker Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School Marlborough $213,040 Computerized hydroponic greenhouse Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School Charlton $295,500 Robotics equipment Blackstone Valley Vocational Regional School District Upton $407,517 Cluster modernization project Leominster High School Leominster $227,236 Milling and energy technology Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District Fitchburg $136,412 Veterinary and STEM training Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School District Franklin $242,627 3D printing equipment Worcester Technical High School Worcester $347,882 Veterinary expansion

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