The state of Massachusetts in the past week made a series of moves, including the awarding of school grants and approving a public-private training program, aimed at alleviating the skilled trades shortage and bolstering apprenticeships.
The state awarded $24.2 million in Career Technical Initiative implementation grants to 23 school districts to train 2,490 people for high-demand occupations within the trades, construction and manufacturing sectors across the state, the governor’s office announced.
In addition to the grants for career and technical education schools to provide adult learners with career training and technical skills, the administration awarded a planning grant to an organization to prepare and design future training. The funding marks the latest cohort of CTI grants, which has helped 2,360 people secure employment out of 3,150 people who have completed training, according to the announcement.
“By leveraging available resources at career and technical education schools across Massachusetts, we are opening more opportunities to help train and prepare untapped talent for current workforce demands,” Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones said. “This program is a great example of the collaborative efforts needed to build our workforce.”
The CTI program is overseen by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, or EOLWD, which recently approved C&W Services, a Cushman & Wakefield subsidiary, to sponsor a state-recognized apprenticeship program in HVAC/R and electrical trades.
This program, authorized by EOLWD’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards, also aims to address critical workforce shortages by providing employees a direct pathway to state licensure in high-demand trades, C&W Services said Monday in a release. The inaugural cohort includes 16 apprentices from C&W Services’ portfolio in Massachusetts.
“This approval allows both new and existing team members to pursue licensure through a structured, fully recognized pathway,” Michael Gill, senior director of client services for the northeast region, who led the program’s development, said in a statement. “It’s a smart move for recruitment, retention, and most importantly, long-term service quality.”
The approval follows a review of C&W Services’ engineering and maintenance operations and enables the company to formally sponsor employees pursuing licensure as HVAC/R Journeyperson Technicians and Electrical Journeypersons. Participants must complete either a three-year HVAC/R or four-year electrical track that combines classroom instruction with on-site mentorship and hands-on training, per the release. To begin accruing on-the-job training hours, apprentices must first secure a DAS Apprentice Card and a Refrigeration Apprentice license, issued by the state’s Office of Public Safety and Inspections.
The designation makes C&W Services one of the first major facility services companies in the state to achieve DAS apprenticeship sponsor status for both HVAC/R and electrical trades, the company said. And it provides C&W Services with a competitive advantage in a tight labor market by growing licensed talent from within and ensuring consistent service delivery across client sites, it said.
“The long-term dividends are clear. It strengthens our staffing and financial performance and more importantly, it improves the lives of the people earning their licenses,” Gill said. “We’re not just checking a box—we’re creating licensed professionals who meet the expectations of the state, the client, and the complexity of today’s facilities systems.”
