Berkshire Eagle: Workforce training bogs manufacturing growth in Berkshires
The Berkshire Eagle covered the release and discussion of a report completed by the UMass Donahue Institute’s Economic and Public Policy Research group that looked at the history of manufacturing in the Berkshires, the industry sector's current state there, and recommendations to facilitate a manufacturing future for the county.
The report highlighted the challenge of providing a highly-skilled local workforce to expand the region’s manufacturing sector. Daniel Hodge, the director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the Donahue Institute presented the findings to an audience of politicians and business people, explaining “There are some [workforce training] programs out there, but when you talk to individual companies, they talk about having the challenge of finding the right set of workers, the right set of job ready skills and technical training."
After decades of decline in the region’s manufacturing sector, Hodge believes in potential for turn around. "I think the Berkshires after a pretty long period of having some larger company shutdowns and a trend line that's not very favorable is at a position where they can look to both stabilize and expand," he said.
Read article: Report: Workforce training bogs manufacturing growth in Berkshires
October 25, 2013
