Berkshire County Regional Employment Board — Whatsnew
By Logan Singh · · 8 min read
What’s New
Berkshire County Skills Summit
Berkshire Regional Skills Summit
SPONSORED BY
Representative Peter Larkin and The Mass Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC)
A Project of MassINC’s New Skills For a New Economy Awareness & Action Campaign*
Thursday, June 6, 2002
Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, MA
9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
CO-SPONSORED BY
Berkshire County Regional Employment Board Pittsfield Economic Development Authority
Berkshire Chamber of Commerce Berkshire Community College
Senator Andrea Nuciforo Representative Dan Bosley
Representative Shaun Kelly Representative Chris Hodgkins
Mayor Sara Hathaway
Did you know that 1 out of 3 workers in Massachusetts lack the skills needed for the New Economy? What does this mean for economic development in Berkshire County now and in the future? How can we find skilled workers and meet 21st century skills challenges to stay competitive in the global economy? Join colleagues from the private and public sectors for a frank look at the skills shortage faced by businesses in Berkshire County and join the effort to do something about it. Together, we will:
� Develop a framework for creating a world-class workforce;
� Identify short and long-term action steps to improve our workforce development efforts; and
� Engage regional leaders in MassINC’s New Skills for a New Economy Awareness & Action Campaign
AGENDA
� 8:30 A.M. Registration
� 9:00 A.M. Greetings and overview of the Summit—Representative Peter Larkin
� 9:15 A.M. Overview of the Berkshire Economy—Professor Craig Moore, U Mass, Amherst.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Berkshire economy? How can we position ourselves to take advantage of future growth opportunities?
� 10:00 A.M. MassINC’s New Skills for a New Economy Campaign—Joe Alviani and John Schneider
Learn how you can join a statewide effort to make literacy and workforce development a 21st century policy initiative by impacting workforce development resources, policies, and practices.
� 10:15 A.M. Panel Discussion
Hear from local and regional experts representing business, labor, education, and government on current efforts to develop a 21st century workforce and meet future labor needs.
� 11:15 A.M. Breakout Sessions and Brownbag Lunch
Work with your colleagues to develop strategies for developing the workforce Berkshire County needs to take advantage of future economic growth opportunities.
� 12:15 P.M. Next Steps—Representative Peter Larkin and John Schneider, MassINC
Share ideas from the breakout session: what needs to get done today to make a difference tomorrow?
� 12:45 P.M. Adjourn
To RSVP—call the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board @ 413-442-7177
Please RSVP by June 3
Questions? Email [email protected]
*The Campaign is sponsored by Verizon, The Nellie Mae Education Foundation, The Boston Foundation,
Fleet Charitable Trusts, The Polaroid Fund and co-sponsored by National Grid and Citizens Bank
Draft WIA Plan Modification for FY03 documents available for public comment
As part of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 and under the auspices of the Chief Elected Official, the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, Inc. (BCREB) in collaboration with the administrative entity Berkshire Training & Employment Program and the Division of Employment & Training has drafted a FY’03 modification to the countywide, workforce development plan for Berkshire County. The total amount authorized by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is $1,436,850 for WIA Title I and Title III during fiscal year 2003. To ensure that Berkshire County has a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing the workforce development needs of the workers and employers of the region, a unified plan has been produced and is now available for review.
Copies of the plan are available for public review at the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board office at 1 Fenn Street, Suite 201, Pittsfield, MA 01201 and at the Office of the Mayor, City Hall, 70 Allen Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. The WIA plan will be available during the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Public comment on the plan is encouraged. Comments can be submitted in writing to Heather Putnam, Executive Director, BCREB, 1 Fenn Street, Suite 201, Pittsfield, MA 01201 or to [email protected]. Comments must be received in writing no later than June 5, 2002.
Press Release 5/15/02 - Non-Profit Collaborations
May 15, 2002—Thanks to a recent training collaborative initiated by the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board (BCREB), 14 local non-profit organizations were able to share resources to meet their top training needs. This collaborative effort is the result of a grant from the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund to the BCREB to help develop collaborative training initiatives in the County.
As part of its effort to help industry groups develop more cost effective training models through collaboration, the BCREB coordinated meetings with seven museums and seven human service organizations to discuss their training needs and identify common areas of interest. By collaborating with other organizations to offer training programs, employees have the opportunity to share experiences and strategies, and each organization gains access to training resources that they might not have identified on their own.
Museum Collaborative. Among the top training needs identified by the Museum Collaborative were serving visitors with disabilities, and enhancing service to visitors. As a result of the identification of these needs, Cultural Access Training and Visitor Service Training programs were developed and offered at local museums.
Cultural Access Training is a three-hour customized training session developed by Ad Lib Inc. for museum employees in a variety of job positions, ranging from administrators, front desk staff, and guides to security and gift shop staff. The training was designed to provide participants with a better understanding of how to work with visitors with both visible and hidden disabilities. Part of the training was presented by individuals with disabilities, who discussed the challenges they face. Ad Lib, Berkshire County’s independent living center, offers services and advocacy by and for people with all types of disabilities.
Visitor Service Training is a customized program developed by Jerry Posner of the Posner Group for a similarly diverse group of museum employees. The training provided participants with a variety of helpful tools for serving visitors in museums or other settings in which customers are served. Some of the participants observed that this training “reinforced how important a positive attitude is when dealing with the public” and “made them more aware of problems and solutions facing visitor service industries”.
The museums in the collaborative are Arrowhead Museum; Berkshire Museum; Chesterwood; Hancock Shaker Village; Norman Rockwell Museum; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; and Williams College Museum of Art.
Human Services Collaborative. The BCREB also worked in coordination with the Berkshire Area Health Education Center to develop a training program for seven area human service organizations. The Human Services Collaborative identified as a top priority the need for a short, local training session in de-escalation skills.
To address this need, the BCREB and the Berkshire Area Health Education Center coordinated a three-hour training program in de-escalation skills, which was offered three times. The training provided strategies for using communications skills to defuse a potentially violent situation with clients and their family members. Mark Keller, who conducted the training, is Director of the Shelter and Housing Division of ServiceNet in Northampton and former Program Director at the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit of Berkshire Medical Center.
The organizations involved in the Human Services Collaborative are Berkshire Center for Families and Children; Berkshire County ARC; Elder Services of Berkshire County; Girls Incorporated of the Berkshires; Goodwill Industries Inc.; Meridian Associates; and UCP of Berkshire County.
Heather Putnam, BCREB Executive Director, commented “We are very pleased to see employers with common needs working together to develop creative training programs. It’s wonderful that local training providers and community organizations have developed programs that address the needs of the Museum and Human Services Collaboratives. I hope these organizations will continue to work together and I encourage them to explore grant opportunities to support their needs, such as the Workforce Training Fund.”
For more information, call Heather Putnam at 442-7177.
RFP for Pilot Family Services Available
The BCREB informed Adult Basic Education Providers about a potential grant opportunity through the Department of Education and the MA Family Literacy Consortium. The Coordinated Family Literacy and Family Support Pilot Project RFP funded by Verizon Foundation, the MA DOE and MFLC will fund 5 communities at $60,000 to comprehensively address the wide range of challenges that at-risk families face in order to achieve their dreams. The RFP will fund collaborations that fill in the gaps for services. Letters of intent are due April 29th and applications due May 31. For more information, the RFP is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/familylit. The BCREB would be pleased to assist with any projects.
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House Ways & Means releases FY03 budget
Faith Based Organizations RFP Available
Through an announcement in the April 17 FEDERAL REGISTER, the Employment and training Administration (ETA) announces the availability of funds under three separate competitions to award grants to States, intermediaries, and small private non-profit organizations. These awards have three important objectives: (1) to increase the number of faith-based and community-based
organizations serving as committed and active partners in the One-Stop delivery system, (2) expand the access of faith-based and community-based organizations’ clients and customers to the services offered by the nation’s One-Stops; and (3) identify, document, showcase and replicate successful instances of faith- and community-based involvement in our system- building. A total of $9.9 million has been reserved for States; a total of $5.0 million for intermediaries (non-profit, community, and/or faith-based organizations with connections to grassroots faith-based and community organizations with the ability to connect those organizations to the nation’s workforce development system in more than one service area); and, a total of $500,000 has been reserved for small non-profit organizations. Background, application instructions, submission deadlines, requirements for statement of work, and Federal criteria for application review can be found in the April 17 FEDERAL REGISTER.
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Employer Nominations being excepted for National Disability Month 10/02
The Governor’s Commission on Employment of People with Disabilities will observe “National Disability Employment Awareness Month” in October by presenting awards to employers who have exemplary records in hiring people with disabilities. We expect that Governor Jane Swift will present these awards at a public State House ceremony in October. The Commonwealth would appreciate your assistance in nominating either public or private employers. Companies are encouraged to self nominate. Employers successfully hiring, retaining and integrating people with disabilities into their business are eligible to be nominated. Regardless of the number of people with disabilities employed. Applications are due May 24, 2002. Please contact Jason Albert at (617) 626-5190 or (800) 438-0471/TTY with any questions.
Internship information is now available
If you are an EMPLOYER interested in receiving more information about school-to-work activities, please click on “EMPLOYER” below and complete the information. This information will be kept confidential by the BCREB, and you will be contacted to receive additional information.
If you are a YOUNG PERSON interested in learning more about activities that you can participate in, please click on the “YOUTH” section below and complete the information. This information will be kept confidential by the BCREB, and you will be contaced to receive additional information.
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Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, Inc.
[email protected]
1 Fenn Street, Suite 201
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Phone 413-442-7177
Fax 413-448-2801