As employers in North Central Massachusetts continue to struggle to find skilled labor, the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce recently announced a study aimed to offer suggestions to balance the labor market now and into the future.

The North Central Workforce Study was prepared by the UMass Donahue Institute’s Economic and Public Policy Research Group, a leading provider of applied research to help clients make more informed decisions about strategic economic and public policy issues. Focusing on workforce growth barriers and solutions, including barriers related to geography, skills, structure and work/life balance, the study includes short-, mid- and long-term recommendations focused on growing the region’s workforce.

“This project has very tangible recommendations and sets North Central up as a thought leader in this space,” said Dr. Mark Melnik, Director, Economic and Public Policy, UMass Donahue Institute. “The chamber is thoughtful about the characteristics of the region and the needs of the businesses. They are one of the first out of the gate in the state to acknowledge the workforce challenges their region is facing and have a strong desire to learn how to change those challenges into opportunities.”

With the collaboration of regional business and education leaders and workforce development experts, the study revealed two classes of workers who are not being fully utilized within the current workforce, but who have skills local employers need.

“Hidden workers” are identified as applicants who are screened out of consideration for jobs or those who have no choice but to remain out of the workforce due to barriers out of their control, and “future workers” are those workers who will be in the labor force in the future due to age, location, technology and other factors.

“Similar to many other areas of the Commonwealth, North Central Massachusetts is feeling the impacts of stagnant labor force engagement beyond the effects of the pandemic shutdowns,” said Roy Nascimento, President and CEO, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “Our region is particularly susceptible to labor force shrinkage due to our aging population and slower population growth, but also because groups of our hidden and future workers within the region have other needs which are not being met by the current labor market here. In fact, some workers are finding the job search to be just as difficult as it was before the pandemic began. The barriers and recommendations in the plan will require all different community stakeholders in North Central to work together to meet the regions’ work force needs.”

While the study revealed many workers are willing and ready to work, barriers facing today’s workers, including where they live, what skills they have and spoken (and unspoken) rules and regulations, can limit a person’s ability to obtain a job.

From a lack of affordable housing adjacent to jobs and transportation from where affordable housing is available, to current skills that no longer align with industries in the area and overly aggressive online applicant filters that may discriminate an applicant’s past, the challenges facing today’s workforce are unique to those of years past.

“We are definitely seeing transportation challenges,” said Robin Therrien, Career Transitions Specialist, Shriver Job Corp., located in Devens, and who recently attended the Manufacturing Bus Tour hosted by the Chamber. “Not everyone is from the larger areas, like Fitchburg and Leominster, and we have students who live outside of these areas seeking opportunities, but there is no affordable housing and transportation to get them to these areas.”

Jeffrey Roberge, Executive Director at MassHire North Central Workforce Board agrees. “Transportation is an issue, especially for those people who live in rural areas of the region,” he said. “But the silver lining here is that several stakeholders in the region are constantly looking at ways to get people to the jobs here and have a commitment to the workforce system to develop transportation services for the workforce.”

Roberge pointed to the Montachusett Area Regional Transport (MART), which is looking at modified plans to support workforce development. “We are fortunate to have our local transit authority recognize workforce development as a priority, and I know they are looking at bus routes to better align with shift schedules.”

To combat transportation issues, the study recommends employers implement ride share programs, which are similar to a carpool system among fellow employees, and encourage companies to coordinate a van system, which helps workers complete the last mile to and from public transportation locations to the company location. Roberge said this type of system has experienced much success in the Boston area.

But transportation isn’t the only challenge employers are facing when hiring workers. The study revealed the most diverse set of issues faced by both workers and employers relates to work/life balance, such as prioritizing shift times, benefits, and location over things such as industry, company or position in the company.

“The future is hybrid and preliminary data has shown there hasn’t been reduced production of work when people are working from home,” added Roberge. “While certain industries have more challenges with a hybrid work schedule, such as manufacturing and health care, I think employers really need to think about aligning schedules and shifts with what their industry can handle and provide remote or hybrid opportunities as much as possible. I don’t think we will ever go back to the traditional workday of being in the office eight hours a day, five days a week.”

The study recommends multi-purpose solutions for North Central related to work-life balance, including a shorter work week, flexible working agreements, the expansion of benefits to include childcare, more permissive policies for time-off requests, incentives for career advancement and rewards for longevity, incentives for employees who have a healthy work/life balance, and coordination with other community stakeholders to increase the supply of childcare, among others.

The study also explored a variety of solutions to engage hidden and future workers into the labor force, such as through the creation of innovative training and credentialing programs, and fostering relationships with local community colleges, businesses and prisons.

“North Central’s workforce is aging and slowed population is projected to continue,” said Nascimento. “In order to meet North Central’s workforce needs, employers, educational institutions and workforce development agencies must collaborate to identify overlapping strategies to help enhance the engagement of these groups in the labor force.”

Local institutions, such as Mount Wachusett Community College and Fitchburg State University, currently collaborate with employers to coordinate programs geared toward community and employer needs. For example, in collaboration with employers, Mount Wachusett Community College began developing a new Veteran Worker’s Initiative that assists local veterans with the transition from military skills to college/civilian skills. This program connects regional employers to students on campus, hosts panel discussions with organizations that educate employers on how to be responsive and sensitive to veteran needs and utilizes the college’s career services by connecting students with business partners in the area.

“We have so many great partners and we want the industry professionals in our area to be involved with educating the future workforce,” said Kijah Gordon, Director of Workforce Access and Education, Mount Wachusett Community College. “We are taking a step back from traditional programming and really looking at what our employers need to fill their open positions.”

At Shriver Job Corp., which serves those between the ages of 16 to 24, programs are offered to students who may not have had a good support system throughout their lives and who may not have life skills that make them attractive to employers. “Our students are not all at-risk youth,” said Denise Schultz, Work-based Learning Specialist, Shriver Job Corp. “The truth is we have good kids who might not have the best focus, but who are committed to learning a skill so they can be contributing members in their communities while also building a good life for their families. We want to work with local employers on filling their open positions and they just need to let us know what they need so we can help find the right fit.”

In an effort to facilitate the collaboration between employers and educational institutions, the Chamber recently hired a Talent and Education Initiatives Program Manager to support the development, retention and attraction of a qualified labor force. “By working with employers, regional partners and educational institutions on developing strategies and programs to build and strengthen our current and future workforce, it was important for us to have a team member focused on these efforts to help strengthen the collaboration,” added Nascimento.

“Terry Young (the Chamber’s Talent and Education Initiatives Program Manager) is doing a great job recruiting for our program,” added Gordon. “The future for us is working with the high schools on how to make our programming more appealing to students.”

While collaboration will be key to growing the labor force in North Central, the study concludes that employers need to make working easier by overcoming the identified barriers.

“What stood out to me about the region was the level of collaboration between higher education and businesses combined with a strong Chamber of Commerce,” said Melnik. “There is really good DNA in the region for collaboration and forward thinking, and the people who we spoke with (as we developed the study) realize that timing for this work is important as the issues at hand will only become bigger if they are not addressed.”

Nascimento agreed the region is unique because the collaboration among its businesses, educators and other key stakeholders is already strong. “The Chamber of Commerce is in a unique position to gain trust from businesses and locals with a goal of establishing connections necessary to better meet worker needs and ultimately bring additional people into the labor force,” said Nascimento. “It is our hope that by commissioning the North Central Workforce study that all stakeholders will have a shared roadmap to overcome the challenges and set forth a bright future for employers and workers alike in the region.”

While the study outlines challenges and opportunities to overcome them, many people are bullish on the region’s workforce development, including Roberge.

“We have a vibrant workforce development system, and the outlook is bright as we have solutions to combat our challenges,” said Roberge. “We are very lucky that our businesses, educators, career centers, social service agencies and many others are talking with each other toward a common goal of making North Central a place to live, work and raise a family. We know what we need to do, and we have a community of engaged and committee people to do it.”

Read the North Central Workforce Study in its entirety here.

 

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Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | North Central Massachusetts Chamber | North Central Workforce Study

Source: State House News Service
Author: Colin A. Young

Beacon Hill seems to have more money than it knows what to do with these days, and lawmakers could soon have even fewer options at their disposal.

Surging state revenues have in recent years fueled sizeable surpluses and allowed the Baker administration and Legislature to pump the state’s Stabilization Fund up to new heights. But similar to the way that fiscal year 2022 revenues were capped by Chapter 62F, leading to taxpayer rebates totaling nearly $3 billion, the Stabilization Fund’s balance is getting closer than it has in at least 20 years to a cap of its own — one that would trigger another lesser-known tax rebate mechanism in state law.

As of the end of fiscal year 2022 on June 30, Massachusetts had stashed away in the Stabilization Fund about 75 percent of what it is legally allowed to, according to the year-end financial report released last week by the state comptroller.

Massachusetts injected $2.311 billion into its Stabilization Fund during fiscal year 2022, bringing the rainy day fund’s balance to a historic high of about $6.938 billion, according to the comptroller. And the fiscal year 2023 budget that Gov. Charlie Baker signed in August would put the Stabilization Fund on track to reach yet another record high of roughly $8.4 billion by next summer, his administration has said.

The law that lays out the parameters of the Stabilization Fund stipulates that “[i]f the amount remaining in the fund at the close of a fiscal year exceeds 15 per cent of the budgeted revenues and other financial resources pertaining to the budgeted funds, as confirmed by the comptroller in the audited statutory basis financial report for the immediately preceding fiscal year, the amounts so in excess shall be transferred to the Tax Reduction Fund.”

For fiscal year 2022, the Stabilization Fund cap was $9,312,616,000 as calculated by Comptroller William McNamara’s office in the Statutory Basis Financial Report published last Friday. And the balance of the Stabilization Fund when fiscal 2022 ended was $6,937,864,000 — or 74.5 percent of the allowable balance.

While there is still room for more savings, the fund’s balance is closer to the limit than it has been at any point over the last 20 years and the balance has been increasing at a much faster rate than the cap.

The last time that the Stabilization Fund ended a fiscal year with a balance less than it had one year prior was fiscal year 2014, when the balance was equal to about 23.5 percent of the statutory cap. Since then, the fund’s balance has grown more than 455 percent — from about $1.248 billion to roughly $6.938 billion. Over the same period, the cap — which is based on tax revenues, federal grants and reimbursements, and more — has increased 75 percent, from $5.320 billion to $9.312 billion.

Starting in fiscal 2015, the Stabilization Fund began to grow, slowly at first. Its balance increased just 0.32 percent that year, then 3.12 percent in fiscal 2016 and 0.71 percent in fiscal 2017. Each fiscal year since, the fund’s balance has grown by a greater percentage than has its upper limit imposed by the cap.

Fiscal year 2018’s nearly 54 percent increase in the balance far outpaced the 6.44 percent increase in the cap. The 71 percent growth in the Stabilization Fund balance in fiscal 2019 (compared to 6.44 percent growth in the cap) brought the fund to about 50 percent of its legally-allowable maximum. Fiscal 2020 was more reserved — 2 percent growth in the cap and 2.24 percent growth in the fund’s balance.

But even as state revenues have skyrocketed in the last two years, the Stabilization Fund’s balance has still grown faster than its ceiling. Fiscal 2021 saw a 20 percent increase in the cap — the largest one-year increase since the cap was raised in the early 2000s from 10 percent to 15 percent of budgeted revenues — and 32 percent growth in the fund’s balance. And fiscal year 2022 generated a 9 percent increase in the cap but a nearly 50 percent increase in the Stabilization Fund’s balance.

If or when the statutory 15 percent cap is reached, any additional money that would normally be bound for the Stabilization Fund — like excess capital gains revenue — goes instead into the Tax Reduction Fund, which sends money back to taxpayers through a one-time increase in the personal exemption.

Since its creation in 1986 as a companion to the Stabilization Fund, taxpayers have received three tax cuts through the Tax Reduction Fund, according to News Service reporting. The cuts came through one-time increases in personal exemptions on 1996, 1997 and 1998 tax returns.

The first tax cut was worth $150 million, the second came in at $91.8 million, and the third and most recent cut was worth $208.8 million, the News Service reported in 2001, citing a deputy state comptroller.

Massachusetts was limited to holding a maximum of $543 million in the Stabilization Fund in fiscal year 1996, but tax revenues helped to propel it well beyond that figure, triggering the automatic tax cut. Gov. William Weld, who was locked into a hot U.S. Senate race against John Kerry at the time, announced in June 1996 that there would be a roughly $150 million tax cut coming when people filed their taxes the following year. That cut meant $105 for a single filer or $135 for married couples, the News Service reported at the time.

“I would much rather see some harried parents enjoy a night out than see government engorge itself on the public’s tax dollars,” Weld said when he announced the tax cut.

Current lawmakers, who were blindsided by the governor’s late July Chapter 62F revelation, may have avoided a possible Stabilization Fund cap issue when they made what McNamara last week called one of the “more unusual transfers” as they closed the books on fiscal year 2022. Instead of being transferred into the Stabilization Fund as would normally be the case, the final close-out budget passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker directed the state’s year-end $4.8 billion surplus to instead be deposited into a Transitional Escrow Fund to be reappropriated in fiscal year 2023.

Secretary of Administration and Finance Michael Heffernan said the escrow account “acts almost as a stabilization fund on top of the Stabilization Fund.”

Massachusetts is far from the only state where a similar story is playing out.

Together, states had a record $136.5 billion in savings by the end of fiscal 2022, the National Association of State Budget Officers said. An October report from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that state savings accounts hold enough money in reserve to run government operations for a median of 42.5 days, a new high and up from a median of 28.9 days in fiscal 2019, just before the pandemic-fueled recession.

At least three states — Connecticut, Iowa and Oklahoma — were projected to have already maxed out their rainy day funds once the final accounting on fiscal year 2022 was completed, Pew said. In those cases, money that otherwise would have flowed into savings will be diverted to other purposes, as would be the case if Massachusetts were to hit its Stabilization Fund ceiling.

And while the COVID-19 years have proved to be a boon for state savings accounts despite initial forecasts for steep losses, Pew said that it expects that states will soon have to slow down on stashing money away.

“Budget surpluses and related gains in states’ rainy day funds during fiscal years 2021 and 2022 are not expected to continue to the same degree in fiscal 2023. Higher-than-forecasted tax revenue growth, historic federal aid, and record financial reserves have buttressed states’ fiscal positions over the past two budget years,” Pew said in its October report. “However, policymakers now face an inflection point as they reckon with several looming challenges, including weakening economic growth amid tightening monetary policy and historically high inflation, and a tapering of federal aid.”

 

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Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | North Central Massachusetts Chamber | Massachusetts Business | Massachusetts Economy | Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce | Chamber of Commerce | Government Affairs | State House News Service

The 110 Grill in Leominster will partner with the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce to host the Chamber’s January edition of the Business After Hours series. The event will take place on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the 110 Grill located at 207 Mill Street in Leominster.

The 110 Grill in Leominster is part of the 110 Grill Restaurant Group, a Massachusetts based chain of restaurants that are known for their American cuisine and feature contemporary, yet warm and inviting atmospheres with private dining rooms, large bar areas and outdoor seating. The Leominster location opened in 2017 and has seating for 170 patrons and a 28-seat bar, with a surrounding lounge. The restaurant’s patio area also features an outdoor fireplace.

Complimentary appetizers and a cash bar will be provided by the 110 Grill as guests connect with old friends and meet new contacts.

“The 110 Grill in Leominster is pleased to host the Chamber and welcome business and community leaders to our restaurant,” said Nick Panarelli, General Manager. “We are very proud to be a part of the community, and look forward to showcasing our restaurant. We hope you’ll join us for this fun business event.”

“We are excited to partner with the 110 Grill to offer members and their guests the opportunity to network in this wonderful venue,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “One of the goals of the Chamber is to offer these types of programs that offer members the opportunity to network with their peers and that also showcase the unique attractions that call North Central Massachusetts home.”

The cost to attend is $15 for chamber members and $25 for non-members, with registration available online at www.northcentralmass.com.

 

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Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) | 110 Grill in Leominster | Business After Hours

An open letter to the Governor-Elect Maura Healey and Lt. Governor-Elect Kim Driscoll

Now that the votes have been counted, the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce extends our congratulations to Governor-Elect Maura Healey and Lt. Governor-Elect Kim Driscoll. We would also like to express our gratitude to outgoing Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito for their many years of service to Massachusetts.

Looking ahead, we extend our sincere offer to collaborate with you and your administration in building a stronger Massachusetts. Supporting economic development efforts, encouraging innovation and fostering growth and change is critical to moving Massachusetts forward. Together with you, we want to help create a vibrant and prosperous state that residents can be proud of, people want to visit, and businesses succeed.

To this end, the Chamber presents eight strategic recommendations for consideration. We believe they will assist the new Healey/Driscoll administration in achieving economic success that will translate to an improved business climate and a higher quality of life for all.

Create an Environment for Business Growth and Investment: The foundation of your housing and economic development strategies must include streamlining the permit and regulatory processes in the state. Massachusetts needs to be a place that is easy to do business, and these strategies will be critical to attract and retain businesses.

Be our Brand Ambassador: Massachusetts boasts many wonderful attributes ranging from a skilled and highly educated workforce and wonderful cultural institutions, to a rich history in manufacturing and innovation. By serving as Governor, you now become our chief booster and brand ambassador! We encourage you to embrace this responsibility by investing marketing dollars in tourism and economic development. With this investment, you’ll bring more commerce to our state and better position us to compete with other states that are hungry to attract our visitors, tax revenue, jobs, businesses and residents. Here in North Central Massachusetts, we’ve identified tourism as a priority industry and we are particularly interested in seeing more investment in regional marketing.

Expand Investment in Education: The quality and accessibility of public education is critical to the health and prosperity of our state and regional economy. The state needs to leverage the unprecedented levels of new state and federal funding in the pipeline as well as engage with educational and business partners to ensure our educational system prepares our youth to succeed—and our state and communities to be competitive. This means providing adequate funding of schools, greater accountability for more measurable results, smaller class sizes, and increased efforts on early education as well as industry pathways and early college opportunities.

Support Existing Businesses: Attracting new businesses to Massachusetts is important, but we know most job growth and investment comes from our existing businesses. By making it a priority to help our existing businesses, they will stay here, grow here and keep jobs here. The manufacturers in North Central Massachusetts have been the backbone of our economy for many years. They represent the third largest industry in the region, and serve as a steppingstone into the middle class for many workers by offering higher pay and enhanced benefits. Our small businesses are also vital contributors to the economy as they bring new opportunity and growth. You must be an advocate and an enabler for these businesses—and we can help you by coordinating an open dialogue about their needs and how the state can help them grow and prosper.

Encourage More Housing: As a state with some of the highest housing costs in the country and an aging population, it is critical to support and sustain affordable and available housing as we work to attract and retain younger workers. While North Central Massachusetts offers relative affordability when compared to other parts of the state, our region still faces challenges related to housing and must work hard to keep pace with demand. We need a greater variety of housing — multifamily, single-family homes on compact lots, rental units—at a greater variety of prices to appeal to a wide variety of budgets and family preferences.

Reduce Barriers to Employment: We are facing a major labor crisis in Massachusetts and if we don’t resolve it, this issue is only projected to worsen and threaten our state’s ability to grow and compete in the future. We need to draw those workers who have left or who are not fully participating in the workforce back into the job market, and attract and retain our future workers. We encourage you to consider strategies to help to pull hidden and future workers into the labor force by including more and better childcare choices, implementing new worker transit, creating innovative training and credentialing programs, and fostering relationships with local community colleges, businesses, prisons, non-profits and other groups.

Enhance the Infrastructure: There is a strong linkage between infrastructure investment and a strong economy, and we are in a unique position to enhance it. By improving our roads, highways, bridges, rail lines, broadband and airports, we will experience increased economic activity, enhanced competitiveness and additional jobs. With new federal transportation and ARPA funds available, the state can invest in big and ambitious infrastructure projects to power our economy for years to come.

Recognize the Importance of Regional Equity. We believe the state as a whole can only succeed when its communities and regions are provided with the same opportunities. Since each region has their own unique economic strengths, assets and challenges, a one-size-fits-all strategy will not work. We encourage you to pursue a regional strategy that acknowledges the different challenges and needs across our great Commonwealth to maintain our dynamic and diverse economy. A regional equity lens should also be applied to every aspect of your work so every community can achieve their full potential. We also encourage you to increase investment dollars outside of Greater Boston in general and towards North Central Massachusetts with a focus on infrastructure, education and workforce development, housing, tourism and economic development initiatives.

We encourage you to adopt an economic growth agenda that can result in positive impacts for residents, businesses and our state for many years to come. We look forward to continuing the dialogue and action that will allow this great state to achieve its full potential and strengthen its place as a leader in our nation.

Sincerely,
Roy Nascimento, IOM, CCE
President & CEO
North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce

 

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Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC) | Governor-Elect Maura Healey Lt. | Governor-Elect Kim Driscoll