Workforce training funds will provide training for current and newly hired employees in areas like ESOL, Technology, and Project Management
 The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $10.9 million in Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP) Awards have been awarded to 125 businesses statewide to date in 2024. The grants, administered and distributed by the Commonwealth Corporation, aim to address business productivity and competitiveness by providing funding to Massachusetts businesses to train current and newly hired employees. Commonwealth Corporation projects more than 6,600 workers will receive skills training in the workplace and grant recipients will add more than 1,400 additional employees in Massachusetts over the next two years.

“Massachusetts is the best state to live in and a great place to work and innovate. That’s in large part due to our investments in businesses and the workforce,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These grants provide the resources needed to help build a pipeline of skilled workers, allowing our businesses to remain competitive and helping them grow and expand.”

“Investing in workforce through vital training and upskilling is a recipe for success, not only for our businesses but for our state as a whole,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “These grants help expand our skilled talent pool for employers, strengthens our competitiveness, and allows our economy to prosper.”

The Workforce Training Fund Program grants are part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s strategic investment to retain and upskill existing talent in Massachusetts’ current workforce. Grants announced today have served as a resource awarded by Commonwealth Corporation to businesses in regions statewide throughout the calendar year.

Awarded grants span eleven different industries including $5.6 million awarded to 67 manufacturing businesses to train 3,139 workers and $2.1 million awarded to 20 businesses in the professional, scientific, and technical services industry with the goal to train 1,255 workers.

“Our greatest asset is our people, and we value the resources we can leverage to strengthen the skills, productivity, and competitiveness of Massachusetts workers,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones. “The Workforce Training Fund is an incredible resource that employers can tap to retain and upskill existing workers with critical skills such as ESOL, technology, project management, and relevant industry credentials and certifications that advances professional development plus outcomes for businesses across the state.”

“Through the Workforce Training Fund Program, our grantee partners are making a profound impact on the future of our workforce and economy,” said Molly Jacobson, President and CEO of Commonwealth Corporation. “Their dedication to delivering effective, customized training programs is essential to keeping Massachusetts’ businesses competitive and our workers thriving. We deeply value their commitment and proudly applaud their efforts to build a stronger, more resilient economy.”

Workforce Training Fund Program grants are available for businesses of all sizes, with the greatest use applied by small to medium-sized businesses. The grants provide instruction on a variety of skills, including ESOL, project management, software and IT, and machine set-up and operation. Businesses can apply for two types of grants through the Workforce Training Fund Program: 1) Express Program, which provides fast and flexible access to grant-funded training designed so that small businesses can quickly and easily access funding to address immediate needs; and 2) General Program, which are two-year grants used for large-scale, strategic training projects. During fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 – June 2024), these programs awarded $37.2 million to train more than 27,900 workers from more than 1,600 businesses.  Employers receiving these grants plan to add more than 2,800 additional employees in Massachusetts by 2026. These two-year grants are awarded competitively and can range from $10,000 to $250,000.

Grant recipients contribute a matching investment of at least one dollar for each grant-dollar awarded. This announcement includes General Program Training Grants awarded from November 2023 through July 2024.

The full list of the grant recipients, totaling $10,987,348 to train 6,651 individuals, can be found below.

Statements of Support

Vicki Fry, Director of Human Resources, Jeffco Fibres Group, Inc.

“The Workforce Training Fund Program is allowing our employees to upskill in a variety of ways, from technical skills like Excel, learning how to manage their time and handle change more effectively, to enhancing their English language capabilities. We have customized the training offered to meet our workforce and company needs. Employees are excited to take courses that will expand their opportunities for advancement and appreciative of the ability to take courses at the workplace, while being paid.  Being able to apply the grant funds to meet our needs will enable our employees and the company to grow and prosper.”

 

Derek Mitchell, President, LEADS.

“LEADS is grateful for our partnership with the Workforce Training Fund Program, which allows us to invest in regional leaders and drive economic growth in both for-profit and non-profit companies.  Because of the WTFP, new jobs are created, new collaborations are brokered, and both organizational and community-wide innovations are realized.”

Meredith Elbaum, Executive Director, Built Environment

“The Workforce Training Fund enables Built Environment Plus (BE+) to expand our mission of driving a sustainable and regenerative built environment. A high percentage of the grant dollars go towards trainings to help our clients reduce their projects’ carbon emissions and contribute to meeting the Commonwealth’s Climate Goals. The curricula include courses on green building rating systems, energy modeling and building software, and human health and wellbeing; as well as courses promoting effective leadership, communication skills in the realm of sustainability, and diversity, equity, an inclusion in the workforce environments.”

 

Elizabeth A. Paquette, President, Rock Valley Tool, LLC

“We are so thankful for the opportunity to receive a Workforce Training Grant. These funds will be used to improve our processes and to train our team in the area of cybersecurity and give our customers the peace of mind knowing that we are up to date in this area.”

Awards by City

   

Andover  

MKS Instruments was awarded $95,200 to train 100 workers by 2026.    

  

castanho-avermelhado  

Kadant was awarded $117,200 to train 79 workers; 2 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

MassMEP was awarded $48,000 to train 14 workers; 80 additional jobs are expected by 2026.  This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which includes Blount Fine Foods of Fall River, Columbia Manufacturing of Westfield, Dienes Corporation of Spencer, Five Star Surgical of New Bedford, Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta Company of Haverhill, Mack Prototype of Gardner, QCI Engineering of Seekonk, and Twin Rivers Technologies of Quincy.  

MassMEP was awarded $24,000 to train 13 workers; 34 additional jobs are expected by 2026. This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which includes Belt Technologies of Agawam, Cartamundi East Longmeadow of East Longmeadow, EIS Wire and Cable of South Hadley, Mide Technology of Woburn, Source International of Sutton, and TriCab USA of Worcester.  

MassMEP was awarded $48,000 to train 11 workers; 32 additional jobs are expected by 2026. This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which includes Spectrum Plastics Group of Pittsfield, AvCarb of Lowell, A.W. Chesterton of Groveland, Cartamundi East Longmeadow of East Longmeadow, Kadant of Auburn, and Noress Corporation of Southbridge.  

  

Beverly  

Danvers Industrial Packaging was awarded $42,000 to train 11 workers; 1 additional job is expected by 2026.    

  

Billerica  

Quanterix was awarded $196,700 to train 94 workers; 75 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Bolton  

Headwall Photonics was awarded $98,150 to train 19 workers; 6 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Boston  

ABCorp was awarded $150,600 to train 61 workers; 8 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Bevi was awarded $105,700 to train 135 workers; 45 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Blackbird Doughnuts & Sally’s Sandwiches was awarded $125,450 to train 136 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.  

   

Caring Bees Healthcare was awarded $159,600 to train 52 workers; 48 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

CBT Architects was awarded $199,600 to train 134 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

DEM Biopharma was awarded $103,950 to train 26 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Entrada Therapeutics was awarded $33,250 to train 133 workers; 60 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Rebel Restaurants was awarded $83,950 to train 28 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026. This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which also includes Tony C’s of Somerville.  

Strand Therapeutics was awarded $12,600 to train 82 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

The First Electronics Corporation was awarded $68,000 to train 185 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

USPRO was awarded $29,050 to train 10 workers; 3 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Zipcar was awarded $191,160 to train 77 workers; 14 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Cambridge  

Teamwork Management was awarded $13,933 to train 11 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Vizgen was awarded $149,450 to train 124 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Charlton  

KARL STORZ Endovision was awarded $199,850 to train 147 workers by 2026.    

  

Chelmsford  

Schleifring North America was awarded $198,839 to train 50 workers; 9 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

ZOLL Medical was awarded $109,200 to train 115 workers; 65 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Danvers  

NeuroLogica was awarded $126,500 to train 64 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Devens  

SMC was awarded $35,400 to train 30 workers; 25 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

WestRock was awarded $196,000 to train 131 workers; 12 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

East Longmeadow  

Cartamundi East Longmeadow was awarded $170,017 to train 161 workers; 15 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

East Taunton  

Jordan’s Furniture was awarded $50,400 to train 14 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Easthampton  

Rock Valley Tool was awarded $108,900 to train 27 workers; 1 additional job is expected by 2026.    

  

Fall River  

Matouk Textile Works was awarded $99,750 to train 50 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Falmouth  

Lawrence-Lynch Corp. was awarded $16,416 to train 6 workers; 7 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Franklin  

New England Appliance Group was awarded $145,245 to train 67 workers; 6 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Plansee USA was awarded $19,600 to train 15 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Rypos was awarded $81,275 to train 29 workers; 7 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Hudson  

Borg Design was awarded $77,220 to train 33 workers; 3 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Precision Coating was awarded $182,350 to train 40 workers; 4 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Hyannis  

Shepley Wood Products was awarded $197,650 to train 148 workers; 14 additional jobs are expected by 2026.  

   

Stewart Painting was awarded $190,750 to train 35 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Kingston  

Colonial Saw was awarded $83,350 to train 22 workers; 4 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Lawrence  

Asahi/America was awarded $196,000 to train 118 workers; 25 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

BioPharm Engineered Systems was awarded $24,864 to train 8 workers; 6 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

LEADS was awarded $56,739 to train 11 workers; 19 additional jobs are expected by 2026. This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which includes Centerboard of Lynn, Element Care of Lynn, Groom Construction of Salem, Lynn Community Health of Lynn, Pathways for Children of Gloucester, Reading Cooperative Bank of Reading, and Salem Five Cents Savings Bank of Salem.  

Techprint was awarded $127,400 to train 110 workers; 19 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Leominster  

Leominster Credit Union was awarded $108,150 to train 74 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Lexington  

Hyalex was awarded $47,600 to train 15 workers; 2 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Littleton  

Romanow Packaging was awarded $12,600 to train 48 workers; 3 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Marblehead  

Jewish Community Center of the North Shore was awarded $44,131 to train 30 workers; 4 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Marlborough  

Allegro MicroSystems was awarded $37,800 to train 40 workers; 30 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Marshfield  

Scituate Concrete Products was awarded $36,400 to train 15 workers; 6 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Mattapoisett  

Brownell Boat Stands was awarded $73,500 to train 21 workers; 2 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Middleton  

Salem Metal was awarded $184,800 to train 83 workers; 12 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Natic  

Landry’s Bicycles was awarded $180,600 to train 136 workers; 20 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Needham  

C&W Facility Services was awarded $55,760 to train 18 workers by 2026.    

  

Newburyport  

Electronic Products was awarded $135,600 to train 30 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Newton  

Elaine Construction Company was awarded $32,200 to train 20 workers; 13 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

North Billerica  

Medford Wellington was awarded $120,080 to train 111 workers; 25 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Northborough  

Flaherty Physical Therapy was awarded $86,800 to train 28 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Norwell  

Zildjian was awarded $154,620 to train 110 workers; 15 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Oxford  

Swissturn USA was awarded $62,015 to train 65 workers; 3 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Peabody  

Bertolino Foods was awarded $84,000 to train 36 workers; 6 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Kaloutas & Co was awarded $145,600 to train 39 workers; 8 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Shawmut Communications Group was awarded $121,100 to train 25 workers; 3 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Pittsfield  

Interprint was awarded $163,900 to train 171 workers; 50 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Plymouth  

Northstar Refrigeration was awarded $165,180 to train 86 workers; 89 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Quincy  

Dellbrook JKS was awarded $49,295 to train 105 workers; 15 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Reading  

Reading Cooperative Bank was awarded $106,600 to train 72 workers; 7 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Salem  

American Surgical Company was awarded $105,150 to train 42 workers; 18 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Somerville  

Built Environment Plus was awarded $190,295 to train 156 workers; 13 additional jobs are expected by 2026. This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which includes isgenuity of Boston, MASS Design Group of Boston, and Utile of Boston.  

Built Environment Plus was awarded $186,935 to train 244 workers; 30 additional jobs are expected by 2026. This grant was awarded to a consortium of employers which includes Epsilon Associates of Maynard, Robinson Deabler Architects of Boston, and SMMA of Cambridge.  

Totto Ramen was awarded $104,000 to train 6 workers; 2 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

South Hadley  

Knight Machine and Tool was awarded $107,410 to train 36 workers; 1 additional job is expected by 2026.    

  

Southwick  

Nitor was awarded $79,900 to train 10 workers; 1 additional job is expected by 2026.    

  

Springfield  

Llumin was awarded $69,800 to train 16 workers; 8 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Stoughton  

Alpha Chemical Services was awarded $100,040 to train 20 workers; 4 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Sutton  

Polyvinyl Films was awarded $197,450 to train 90 workers by 2026.    

  

Wakefield  

Optikos was awarded $165,375 to train 81 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Waltham  

Azenta Life Sciences was awarded $184,800 to train 81 workers; 8 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Marathon Sports was awarded $179,200 to train 222 workers; 65 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Ware  

Quabbin Wire & Cable was awarded $180,995 to train 60 workers; 6 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Watertown  

Lyndra Therapeutics was awarded $194,250 to train 58 workers; 30 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Webster  

Jeffco Fibres was awarded $211,050 to train 168 workers; 5 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

West Bridgewater  

The Haynes Group was awarded $156,800 to train 57 workers; 12 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Westfield  

Westfield Bank was awarded $194,768 to train 315 workers; 20 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Westwood  

Romanow Container was awarded $21,000 to train 104 workers; 4 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Whitinsville  

Whitin Community Center was awarded $165,900 to train 75 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Wilmington  

Energetiq was awarded $121,028 to train 100 workers; 17 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Monogram Foods was awarded $136,700 to train 47 workers; 15 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Onto Innovation was awarded $70,000 to train 57 workers; 20 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Textron Systems was awarded $199,689 to train 96 workers; 65 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Woburn  

Admiral Metals was awarded $58,800 to train 8 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Analytix Business Solutions was awarded $88,200 to train 12 workers; 3 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Dan-Kar was awarded $37,400 to train 11 workers; 2 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Schneeberger was awarded $172,000 to train 17 workers; 4 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

Skyworks Solutions was awarded $140,000 to train 78 workers; 10 additional jobs are expected by 2026.    

  

Worcester  

Sustainable Comfort was awarded $170,824 to train 40 workers; 15 additional jobs are expected by 2026.