Building a jobs pipeline for Greater Boston and Massachusetts is crucial to the economic future and vitality of the city and region—and, as such, Workforce Development is a major focus of the Boston Foundation’s civic leadership activities. 

While Massachusetts has the most highly educated population in the country, the state struggles with a low literacy rate and a labor force that hasn’t grown at all since 2000.  Massachusetts was the only state in the nation to see its labor force decline between 2003 and 2005, with many talented young workers leaving the state to work in more affordable parts of the country.

The Boston Foundation encourages research and dialogue about the state’s labor supply and coordinates the SkillWorks initiative, the most ambitious workforce development initiative in Boston’s history.

Workforce Development Spotlight:

SkillWorks In 2000 the Boston Foundation convened a group of public and private investors to begin planning an ambitious workforce development initiative. Fully launched in 2003, the SkillWorks initiative is a five-year, $15 million partnership among 14 local and national funders, including the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Learn more »

Indicators-related research: October 08, 2009 Connect to the Boston Indicators Project's Economy sector for data, trends, research and resources January 01, 2009 State of Working Massachusetts 2008 October 10, 2008 Access the MassInc survey of Massachusetts youth		Selected grants: June 10, 2010 Skillworks, Partners for a Productive Workforce June 10, 2010 Jewish Vocational Services June 10, 2010 Boston Employment Services (STRIVE)
More Indicators-related research »		More »

  

Recent Workforce Development Reports:

Breaking the Language Barrier: A Report on English Language Services in Greater Boston At a time when Greater Boston needs all hands on deck to remain competitive in the global economy, immigrants represent the growth tip and bring with them a tremendous amount of initiative and intelligence. Too many, however, are not receiving the English language services they need to thrive and contribute to our community and workforce. This report examines Greater Boston's immigrants and the ESOL system designed to serve them. Read Report

When Untapped Talent Meets Employer Need In 2007, the Boston Foundation launched the Allied Health Initiative, a workforce development initiative created in close partnership with several Boston hospitals. This new initiative was informed by the success of a major public/private partnership called Skill- Works, which was created by the Boston Foundation in 2003 with the City of Boston and a group of other local funders. This report provides an evaluation of the first three years of the Allied Health Initiative. Read Report

Staying Power: The Future of Manufacturing in Massachusetts Conventional wisdom may relegate manufacturing to the ash heap of earlier centuries, but new research undertaken by the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University establishes not only the importance of manufacturing as a potent part of the regional economy but its role as a catalyst for future growth. Read Report

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Workforce Development Forums:

Staying Power: The Future of Manufacturing in Massachusetts July 15, 2008 Business and industry leaders joined representatives of the nonprofit and public policy sectors for a Boston FoundationUnderstanding Boston forum on July 15th. The occasion was the release of an assumption-shattering report on the current and future state of manufacturing in Massachusetts.

Building a Jobs Pipeline: A Popular Forum on Our Economic Future January 31, 2007 The good news didn’t take long to impart to a crowd of more than 200 people who came to the Boston Foundation on January 31st for a fascinating forum on building a “jobs pipeline” for Massachusetts. Andrew Sum, Director of the Center for Labor Market Studies and an author of a report called Mass Economy: the Labor Supply and Our Economic Future, shared some of his alarming conclusions. “The good news is that Massachusetts has the most highly educated population in the country,” he said, “with 32.9% possessing a bachelor’s or higher degree. We also have a high literacy rate.”

Building Building a 21st Century Workforce: A Skillworks Forum on Job Opportunity June 29, 2006 Hundreds of people—from workers to representatives of unions, government and nonprofits—gathered at Roxbury Community College on June 29th to hear Massachusetts gubernatorial candidates speak about their commitment to workforce development. It was the first forum at which all major candidates for governor appeared.

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