2020 “Safe Jobs for Youth” Poster Contest Winners Announced

Winners of the 2020 statewide “Safe Jobs for Youth” Poster Contest are each taking home cash prizes funded by Commonwealth Corporation for their creative posters that highlight the importance of workplace safety and health for teens.

New Pharmacy Technicians Graduate Training in Remote Ceremony

The first remote graduation in the history of JVS Boston began with applause sound effects and ended with a singalong to “Sweet Caroline,” celebrating the 15 new pharmacy technicians who started the training program in-person and finished it in online virtual classrooms due to COVID-19 pandemic, bolstering the healthcare workforce during the global coronavirus public health emergency.

$10M in Workforce Training Fund Program Grant Awards Announced

Leadership is like being the first egg cracked in an omelette.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

That’s one of the messages about assertiveness that Cherrell McKoy picked up as a trainee in a workforce leadership program that’s now being offered to employees at Brockton-based Father Bill’s & MainSpring, the nonprofit that provides shelter to the homeless and supportive housing throughout southeastern Massachusetts, including the emergency shelter in the downtown area.

CommCorp, MassHire Train Career Center Staff on Substance Use Disorder and Trauma-Informed Workforce Development Practice

This year, frontline MassHire Career Center staff received training on addiction recovery and trauma-informed approach to mental health to better understand the barriers that some customers are facing as they look for jobs in a tight labor market.

Learn to Earn Food Industry Program Graduates its First Class

The first group of students to enter JVS Boston’s Food Industry Training program, funded by a $325,000 Learn to Earn grant awarded by Commonwealth Corporation, received their ServSafe certificates at a graduation ceremony at Spaulding Hospital in Cambridge on Jan. 8.

CommCorp 2019 Year-In-Review

It’s been a busy year at Commonwealth Corporation! Here’s a look back at some of our accomplishments in 2019.

WCTF Contributes to National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund team conducted a program design process for two grantees who received funding through the second round of Learn To Earn awards. Both programs, JVS and HMEA, intend to serve people with disabilities who are receiving public assistance.

How Can Massachusetts Diversify and Build its STEM Workforce?

Hands-on learning, employer partnerships and building skill pathways are among the most important actions the state can take to address the diversity gap in STEM occupations, panelists said at a Massachusetts STEM Week event on Oct. 24 hosted by The Boston Foundation.

$4.2M Awarded in Sen. Donnelly Grants through the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF)

Local and state officials joined Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rosalin Acosta, CommCorp staff, MassHire partners and First Student Inc. workers at First Student Inc. in Marlborough on Thursday, Sept. 26 for the announcement of the first-ever round of Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grants for FY19 through the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund (WCTF).

Youth Share Their Art, Stories at Annual DYS Showcase

More than 400 youth, community leaders and families gathered to celebrate and view art created by youth in Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) programs at the highly anticipated 7th Annual DYS “Share Your Art, Share Your Voice!” event on Tuesday, May 14.