Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rosalin Acosta, and Rep. Carole Fiola meet on March 21, 2019 with young men who had recently completed a YouthWorks program in Fall River. The twelve program participants, unemployed and low-income men ages 18-21, had 100 percent attendance in the training component of the program and were finishing internships at Whirlpool Corporation’s Fall River manufacturing plant, the largest plant in the world dedicated to commercial laundry. They all passed the OSHA 10 certification, too.
More than $740,000 in grants will fund subsidized employment placements and development and implementation of career pathway programs for youth, helping young people explore in-demand industries and occupations, build professional skills, and gain the experience needed to find and keep jobs, the Baker-Polito Administration announced today. At least 165 youth will participate in training and work-based learning for advanced manufacturing, early childhood education, financial services, health care and more in the programs awarded funding through the YouthWorks Year-Round Competitive Grant Program, the integrated work and learning youth program administered by Commonwealth Corporation on behalf of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Grantees applied for one of three options in this round of funding: a career pathway planning and implementation grant, a traditional YouthWorks placements plus targeted career exploration grant, or a planning-only grant for a future career pathway program. Seventeen grants were awarded to applicants and their partners.