Cabinet members see workforce progress
Date: 10/10/2014
SPRINGFIELD – Steve Capshaw had the ear of two influential members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez at a visit the two men made to Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) on Oct. 8.
The secretaries were visiting STCC to learn first hand about the impact of $2 billion grants made to community colleges nationally for workforce development. In Massachusetts, that effort has been coordinated through the Massachusetts Community Colleges & Workforce Development Transformation Agenda.
Capshaw is the owner of Valley Steel Stamp in Greenfield. He said his business, precision manufacturing, was suffering a “paradox.” Capshaw explained, “There was significant demand and a shortness of skilled labor.”
In 2010, his company was turning down work because he didn’t have the workforce it needed.
“We could find none, because there were none,” he said.
Through a new program with Greenfield Community College, though Capshaw is now increasing his workforce and he noted that last year there were 29 graduates who gained positions in the industry.
The downside of the story, Capshaw said, is he could use more. In 2009, he had 25 employees. In 2012, that number rose to 50, however judged by the amount of work that comes his way he should have 100 employees at this point, he explained.
He said the current rate of young people obtaining the training they need “doesn’t come close to the needs.”
Capshaw added that three years ago, he was “terrified” that his company could not grow.
The Massachusetts Community Colleges & Workforce Development Transformation Agenda has been funded by a $20 million grant from the Department of Labor. It has developed programs through collaborations between employers, colleges, and adult basic education. According to a fact sheet, so far the program has seen retention and completion rate that ranges form 85 to 90 percent for the students and 151 degree and certificate programs have been developed or redesigned.
Seventy percent of the students in the program had obtained jobs and there have been to date 6,579 students in the program, exceeding the original goal of 4,000 in the first three years.
Paul Judd, vice president of Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning for Baystate Medical Center, gave the secretaries an example of how a collaboration between STCC and the medical center created a certificate program designed to fill a need at the center. The two partners looked at the initial program, evaluated it and then redesigned it to make it stronger.
Duncan said this was his fourth or fifth trip to Massachusetts “and it’s not an accident.” He said the Commonwealth is leading the county in workforce development.
Referring to the initial funding, he added, “There is not another $2 billion behind us.” Duncan added the challenge is to motivate more collaborations.
He added that community colleges have been “unrecognized gems.”
Perez concurred, “Massachusetts is playing a very important leadership goal.”
The labor secretary said workforce development is “ conversation about the middle class and what it means to be middle class.”
Perez said the trend in American industry is not out-sourcing, but “in-sourcing.” American companies are bringing manufacturing operations back from overseas for several reasons he explained. The United States has “an energy advantage” over many countries as well as considerable resources in information technology. Another factor working in the country’s favor is the cost of shipping, which adds to the bottom line.
Congressman Richard Neal said there has been a substantial increase in exports with the goal of doubling exports by the end of the year being met.
