The Association conducts timely labor market analysis, brokers relationships between business and industry and providers of education and training programs, and sets policy concerning management and allocation of federal and state workforce development resources to best serve job seekers and employers in their regions.

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Mass to receive $64 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for employment, training, education and services to unemployed workers
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MASSACHUSETTS desperately needs skilled workers to fill its 84,000 vacant jobs. A new training program can help, but only if it gets a home in the state budget.

The Department of Workforce Development's job vacancy estimate should be great news for the state's 150,000 unemployed. But many lack the required skills.

Fortunately, the Legislature created a matchmaker, the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, in the economic stimulus bill of 2006. Existing state programs offer job training. But the fund is a larger, smarter effort, which focuses on regional industries and gives grants to projects backed by partners in education and employment. Many of the jobs require training but not advanced college degrees.

Greenfield Community College, for instance, is using a $370,000 grant to train people for "green jobs" in construction, such as installing solar panels and building other energy efficiencies. The college has 40 partners, including community groups and companies that send employees for training. The goal is to help Franklin County be a leader in the sustainable energy industry.

In Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess, Children's, and New England Baptist hospitals are using a $500,000 grant to create a two-year Medical Lab Technician program with Bunker Hill Community College. There's a high demand for these workers, whose responsibilities can include handling specimens and running blood tests.

Classes are held at Beth Israel, after work. During the last six months, participants go to labs for hands-on training. And they still get their salaries, making the training affordable.

Jobs in Boating (JIB). Using a $425,000 grant, JIB offers two courses: an introduction to the marine trades, including boat repair and sales; and a marine- technician class that addresses a standing worker shortage by preparing students for entry-level jobs. The program is for the unemployed and job-changers. And My Turn Inc., a Brockton nonprofit, is recruiting youths. The workplace partner is the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association.