In program year 2025–26, the MassHire Central Region Workforce Board was awarded a $2,079,200 YouthWorks grant to support employment placements for 510 regional youth. This investment underscores the program’s commitment to workforce exploration, skills development, and meaningful career experience across Central Massachusetts.
We interviewed Jeffrey Turgeon, Executive Director of MassHire Central Region Workforce Board, about Youthworks' mission in Central Massachusetts. “Youthworks is a critical component to our efforts to help ensure our region’s emerging workforce is prepared for future career success,” says Turgeon. “This is especially important in our region since we have an aging workforce, and many industries are facing (or will soon face) labor shortages. The YouthWorks program also serves as an anti-violence strategy in Worcester because it allows us to actively engage at-risk youth to help them develop their career success skills when they may otherwise be left in vulnerable situations.”
YouthWorks’ mission to prepare youth for career success involves gaining paid work experience for young people ages 14-25. “Paid work experience allows us to engage low-income youth with barriers to employment that otherwise would not be afforded the opportunity to have a paid work experience,” says Turgeon. “Having a paycheck gives participants a greater sense of accomplishment and also helps them to understand how a paid job works – including the mechanics of how to go about tracking work hours and setting up for automatic deposit, for example.”
Preparing young people for the workplace requires more than just a job opportunity. To ensure participants are fully equipped for long-term success, YouthWorks integrates the Signal Success curriculum. As a core component of YouthWorks, the Signal Success curriculum program combines self-paced online modules with live instruction to provide systematic training in foundational soft skills such as communication, professionalism, responsibility, teamwork, and initiative. Through MassHire Central, which serves the City of Worcester and communities across Worcester County, participants not only learn how to navigate job applications and workplace expectations but also apply these skills through real-world job placements across more than 70 employer sites, spanning industries from advanced manufacturing and government to financial services.
When asked what the grant investment mean for the future of the region, Turgeon shared: “The Investment of Youthworks in Central Mass means that we will have a stronger workforce in the long term while also addressing the needs of low-income youth in the short term.” Turgeon continues, “Youthworks allows a significant number of Central Mass youth to gain a first-hand understanding of the workplace and insights into the specific industry that they are placed in through the program. This helps them determine the type of industry or occupation that they may wish to further train for as they embark on their careers.”
20-year-old Antoniyo Christiansen participated in the YouthWorks Employment Program through the Milford Youth Center, where he grew from a program participant into a paid staff member supporting summer camp and after-school programming. Now a college student and basketball player, Antoniyo credits Youthworks and the Youth Center with providing stability, mentorship, and his first meaningful work experience. "I have been attending the Milford Youth Center since the 6th grade, and this has been one of the most important places in the world to me,” Christiansen shared.
Growing up in a single-parent household, Christiansen described how the Youth Center supported both him and his family during times of financial strain. “Coming from a single mom, I didn’t always have everything I wanted, but we always made it work,” he said. “As a kid, I felt a little different because of the circumstances my family was in, but as I got into the Youth Center, all of that went away.”
Through Youthworks, Antoniyo was able to gain paid employment while continuing to learn and grow personally. “The Youth Center continued to help me in my life by hiring me following my junior year,” he said. “This has been so important to me because not only am I getting paid, but I am constantly learning and becoming a better person.”
This is an outcome desired by Youthworks, as Turgeon states ‘We want to ensure our region’s vulnerable youth develop the workplace skills necessary for longer-term career services. This includes the Signal Success program and the paid hands-on work-based learning experience”.
MassHire’s Youthworks program demonstrates how investment in paid work experience can strengthen both youth outcomes and the region’s long-term workforce. By connecting young people with meaningful employment, supportive employers, and real-world skill development, Youthworks not only addresses immediate barriers faced by low-income and at-risk youth but also helps Central Massachusetts prepare for future labor needs.
About CommCorp
Commonwealth Corporation is a quasi-public agency in Massachusetts overseen by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Our mission is to foster workforce equity by delivering innovative and collaborative professional development solutions that help diverse communities and employers succeed. We administer and deliver a wide range of publicly and privately funded grant programs to create or expand education and training capacity for in-demand occupations. For more information, please contact us.
