Patrick-Murray Administration Announces $1.79 Million To Boost Job Training And Support Services In Northampton And Surrounding Communities

Boston – Monday, May 11^th, 2009 – As part of Governor Deval Patrick’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan to secure the state’s economic future, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump today announced more than $1.79 million in federal recovery funds to make immediate investments in job training and support services for dislocated workers, low-income youths and adults in Franklin and Hampshire communities.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding will go to the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board for the one-stop career centers in Greenfield and Northampton. The board and the centers serve both employers and job-seekers in communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties. These resources are a portion of the $67 million recently announced statewide,and will assist all of the 37 One-Stop Career Centers throughout Massachusetts.

“These funds will help put people back to work, and give unemployed citizens the support and services they need to rejoin the workforce,” said Governor Patrick.

“Workforce training dollars will go a long way to help unemployed workers prepare for the jobs that Massachusetts has to offer,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray. “We are grateful for the stimulus funding and are committed to using it to help as many people as possible.”

“In these difficult times, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that some Massachusetts industries are still hiring,” said Secretary Bump, who met with unemployed workers today during job training courses at the Northampton Career Center– one of the state’s 37 One-Stop Career Centers. “These funds will help put people back to work, and give unemployed citizens the support and services they need to rejoin the workforce.”

One Stop Career Centers are making training a top priority, ensuring dislocated workers receive help assessing their skills and weighing new options. This funding will help prepare workers for success with literacy training, assistance with GED completion, and help with improving English proficiency.

Cities and towns in the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board include Amherst, Ashfield, Athol, Belchertown, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Chesterfield, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Deerfield,Easthampton, Erving, Gill, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Hawley, Heath, Huntington, Leverett, Leyden, Middlefield, Monroe, Montague, New Salem, Northampton, Northfield, Orange, Pelham, Petersham, Phillipston, Plainfield, Rowe, Royalston, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Southampton, Sunderland, Ware, Warwick, Wendell, Westhampton, Whately, Williamsburg, and Worthington.

The ARRA funding provides $21.2 million to serve dislocated workers and more than $10 million to help low-income adults find work. With these new resources, more people will be able to enroll in training for high demand jobs in careers such as healthcare. The Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board will receive $448,239 for dislocated workers and $200,734 for low income workers from these funds.

With summer approaching, Governor Patrick plans to combine $6.67 million from the state’s YouthWorks summer jobs program with $3.1 million in public safety funds and $21.1 million for youth employment and educational programming provided under the federal recovery bill totaling $30 million statewide to support summer employment and additional support services. The Governor’s approach will maximize state and federal resources, helping to increase the number of jobs for low-income young people between the ages of 14-24 to an estimated 10,000.

These resources will also help support youth disconnected from school and employment to access education and employment opportunities beyond the summer. The Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board will receive $892,388 of these funds.

Investments to help get unemployed individuals back to work are critical components to Governor Patrick’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan, which combines state, federal and, where possible, private efforts to provide immediate and long-term relief and position the Commonwealth for recovery in the following ways:

Deliver immediate relief by investing in the road, bridge and rail projects that put people to work today and providing safety net services that sustain people who are especially vulnerable during an economic crisis;
Build a better tomorrow through education and infrastructure investments that strengthen our economic competitiveness, prepare workers for the jobs of the future and support clean energy, broadband and technology projects that cut costs while growing the economy; and
Reform state government by eliminating the pension and ethics loopholes that discredit the work of government and revitalize the transportation networks that have suffered from decades of neglect and inaction.