Facilitator:
Wyvonne Stevens-Carter, Adult Education State Director, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

In this participatory workshop, you will help Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS) develop language to talk about the immense value of an adult education credential — both for individual students and employers. Here’s your chance to let us know what makes a graduate from an ACLS-sponsored program a positive addition to your workforce, how program graduates meet your needs, and what’s special and unique about adult education overall. In addition, we will provide key information about MassLINKS, MassSTEP, and Workplace Education, unique services for students and employers.

Facilitators:
Joanne Kamens, PhD, Senior Consultant, The Impact Seat

Jasmine Montañez, MBA SHRM-CP, Senior Consultant, The Impact Seat

The purpose of this workshop is to talk about how language matters in how we interact with each other and create a sense of inclusion and belonging at work. Using language to respect others is one of the primary ways we can commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion as colleagues. We will also focus on interaction, sharing, listening, practice, and collegiality while addressing topics such as:

• Our names — how to respect people’s heritage and sense of self;

• How we can demonstrate allyship by thoughtful use of language around our own identities and the identities of our colleagues, friends, and family; and

• Pronouns and how and why there are important.

Please join The Impact Seat for a workshop that will reveal examples of how language directly contributes to the inclusion and understanding of specific social identities such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. You’ll walk away with some specific goals and a toolkit to share with others at work.

Facilitators:
Isai Pochtar, Workforce Advisor, TRANSFR Inc.

Katie Crowder, Manager of Youth Workforce Initiatives, MassHire North Shore Workforce Board

Can virtual reality (VR) career exploration and job training help create pathways for customers into local jobs? Learn how the MassHire North Shore Workforce Board in collaboration with training providers partnered with Transfr to strengthen youth career opportunities in various workforce development programs through a public/private partnership between education, industry, and local workforce development. Transfr’s extensive library of Career Exploration and Job Training Simulation in VR teaches individuals how to master hands-on job skills in manufacturing, construction, automotive, hospitality, aviation maintenance, and coming soon, health and life sciences! VR is an exciting tool to add to programs to increase engagement and transition to occupational skills training. This workshop will include case studies discussion, Q&A, and live hands-on demonstration.

Facilitators:
Milt Wright, President, Milt Wright & Associates Inc.

Joan Phillips, Assistant Commissioner, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission

Kathy West Evans, Director of Business Relations, National Employment Team at Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation

Bill Allen, Director of Statewide Job Placement Services, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission

Sacha Stadhard, Manager, Policy and Program Administration, MassHire Department of Career Services

This panel of presenters will explore interagency collaboration strategies and ideas on building trust to effectively meet the needs of our business customers. Through this interactive workshop, participants will discuss and collaborate to construct a roadmap for effective collaboration and interagency cooperation for a more inclusive competitive workforce.

In this session, presenters will share the results of recent regional stakeholder discussions on the topic of collaborations for increased employment outcomes. The discussions were sponsored by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) with the support of Milt Wright and Associates and Kathy West-Evans of Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). Those in attendance included business partners, MassHire regional staff, MRC Employment Services Staff, MRC managers, and community rehabilitation partners.

Target audience includes all interested parties, including but not limited to vocational rehabilitation, MassHire, and community rehabilitation agencies’ management and staff.

Participants will:

• Learn strategies on better collaboration between agencies to meet business and disability customer needs.

• Gain new ideas for establishing trust between organizations

• Develop new relationships across agencies in order to work better together

• Gain new ideas to increase placement and retention outcomes for persons with disabilities

Facilitators:
Erin Quinn, Associate Commissioner of Employment and Training Programs, Department of Transitional Assistance

Tyreese Nicolas, Assistant Director of Employment Service Program, Department of Transitional Assistance

Denielle Johnston, WIOA Coordinator, Department of Transitional Assistance

This workshop will provide an overview of the redesign of the TANF work program at the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) and how the insights gained from the Learn to Earn initiative are being applied to create meaningful career pathways through existing and new partnerships.

Topics for discussion will include:

• How the Pandemic has impacted recruitment and outreach to priority populations in the emerging economy;

• Applying a racial equity lens in employment strategies and outcomes analysis;

• Revisiting referral pipelines and the operational challenges and opportunities in a hybrid work environment;

• The critical role of Market Makers and Upskilling Navigators in creating new career pathways and recruitment pipelines in partnership with DTA engagement staff.

Facilitators:
Daniel Weagle, Regional Director, Apprenti

Ashley Hazleton McClafferty, Assistant Director, Workforce Development, MassHire Boston Workforce Board / Boston Private Industry Council

Bruce Mendelsohn, Resource Development Coordinator / Program Manager, MassHire Central Region Workforce Board

In this workshop, you’ll discover two efforts to bring more Commonwealth residents from underrepresented communities into tech careers and help companies benefit from a diverse workforce.

The dynamic evolution of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will support strong employment growth in technology-related occupations across all industries and sectors, including “healthcare support” which is projected to increase in the U.S. almost 25% through 2030.

While these tech-related industries and occupations are among the Commonwealth’s fastest growing, entering these high-demand fields can be a challenge for individuals from non-traditional and underserved backgrounds. In fact, according to a 2018 report from Atlassian, the tech workforce is 95% white and 76% male.

In this workshop, you’ll discover how Apprenti (an organization that addresses the need for tech talent and diversity by adapting the time-tested model of apprenticeship) offers economic mobility to underrepresented groups by identifying, training, and placing diverse talent into tech jobs in Massachusetts companies.

Then you’ll hear from MassHire Program Managers who will share recent research and findings from a Google/JFF funded design grant called “Expanding the Healthcare IT Jobs Pipeline in the Boston-Worcester Corridor”. This project mapped Tech and IT-related career pathways in healthcare. You’ll find out some of the skills, education, and experience underserved individuals need to enter and grow in healthcare IT careers.

Participants will leave this workshop with a deeper understanding of Massachusetts’ career landscape in tech, and how workforce development practitioners can work with their business partners and job seekers to enter into these growing fields.

Facilitators:
Jennifer Applebaum, Director, Workforce Development, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

Janel Granum, Senior Program Manager, Workforce Development, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

This workshop will offer a mix of industry data about high-growth climate-critical occupations, and interactive components to guide participants in reflecting on how best to help their job seekers access these opportunities. 95% of the additional clean energy-related jobs created in this decade will be middle to high-wage jobs. The session will explore: (1) the impact of recent state and federal legislation (2) current programming and funding opportunities to support new entrants and (3) emerging best practices to support job seekers with a range of barriers. Participants will leave the session with clear information about workforce development opportunities in the clean energy sector and ideas about how to capitalize on these trends to best support job seekers in their local contexts.