The Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund supplies employers and training providers with the funding to develop programs that will train new workers to address employers’ hiring needs. Read more in the following brochure.
Developing training pipelines to meet the skill needs of businesses in high-demand occupations
Overview
The WCTF invests in demand-driven programs designed by industry sector partnerships that train and place unemployed and underemployed workers. The purpose of the Fund is to support the development and implementation of employer and worker-responsive programs to enhance worker skills, incomes, productivity, and retention, and to increase the quality and competitiveness of Massachusetts businesses. WCTF programs serve people across the Commonwealth whose life experiences and circumstances make it difficult for them to succeed in employment without targeted support. They include individuals who are underemployed and rely on aid from public benefits to support their families, individuals who have been disconnected from the workforce for a long period, and people who have not been able to complete formal schooling.
In 2018, the Massachusetts Legislature voted to rename grant awards from the WCTF in memory of the late Senator Kenneth Donnelly, who was a steadfast champion of promoting workforce opportunities in the Commonwealth, especially for people who might lack a pathway to economic stability. In this spirit, we seek to foster sector partnerships that are powered by local organizations that possess deep expertise and aim to uplift people of all backgrounds. The WCTF model enables community organizations to build and sustain effective partnerships with employer partners and the public workforce system while striving to incorporate more equitable and innovative practices that lead to increased economic mobility for more people in the Commonwealth.
CommCorp is glad to announce the re-release of a new Request for Proposals for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF- Senator Donnelly Workforce Success Grants). Prospective applicants are invited to join a virtual Pre-Application Technical Assistance Meeting scheduled for December 15th at 2 pm and/or a bidder’s webinar scheduled for January 5th at 10 am . →Click Here to Register ←
Impact Numbers
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Employers with Newly Placed Trained Job Seekers Since 2013
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% of Enrollees are Low-Income
Resources
- Industry and Occupation, Research & Evaluation
WCTF grants expand training capacity to upskill new workers and address employers’ hiring needs across a broad range of occupations within industries such as healthcare, IT, transportation, and hospitality.
The enabling legislation for WCTF (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 29 Section 2WWW) calls for a report to be filed annually with the Secretary of Administration and Finance; the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means; and the Joint Committees on Community Development and Small Business, Education, Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Labor and Workforce Development, and Public Health. The report must include the number of educational and eligible service providers receiving grants and participants receiving services and placed in employment, as well as the salary and benefits that participants receive after placement, the cost per participant, and job retention or promotion rates for the year after training ends.
- Industry and Occupation
The Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF) was established through economic stimulus legislation passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2006. The WCTF invests in demand-driven programs designed by industry sector partnerships that train and place into employment unemployed and underemployed workers. The purpose of the Fund is to support the development and implementation of employer and worker-responsive programs to enhance worker skills, incomes, productivity, and retention and to increase the quality and competitiveness of Massachusetts firms.
- Industry and Occupation
By Kathie Mainzer, Workforce Solutions Group, Tonja Mettlach, Massachusetts Workforce Association, and Anne Calef, Boston Indicators
News
Blog
- Industry and Occupation
- March 25, 2021
Westfield State University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Education was awarded a $200,000 state grant to partner with community agencies to design and deliver a hybrid competency-based addiction counselor education program.
- Industry and Occupation
- July 24, 2020
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, like many organizations that provide training for workers, Boston Education Skills and Training (BEST) Corp. found their target industry in upheaval.
- Industry and Occupation
- May 12, 2020
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.
- Industry and Occupation
- November 13, 2019
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.
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