March 28, 2024

Business Owners, Officials Discuss State of Advanced Manufacturing Industry at Roundtable Event

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State and federal officials joined representatives from local manufacturing companies at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School on Friday, March 27, to continue their discussions about the state of the Advanced Manufacturing industry and its ever-growing need for skilled workers.

The group convened as part of a roundtable discussion hosted by Tri-County administrators, Representative John Fernandes (D-Milford), and Representative Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin).

U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III and Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash spoke at the meeting. Participants from the state legislature included Rep. Elizabeth Poirier (R-North Attleborough), Sen. Richard Ross (R-Wrentham), and Sen. James Timilty (D-Walpole). Representatives from the offices of Sen. Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) and Denise Garlick (D-Needham) were also in attendance.

The group was joined by representatives from the 495/MetroWest Partnership, MassMEP, and National Grid. Manufacturers from all of Tri-County's 11 sending towns also participated in the roundtable discussion.

Serving as the moderator of the discussion, Rep. Roy began by underscoring the important role the Advanced Manufacturing industry plays in the state’s economy.

"As you know, manufacturing is vitally important to the Massachusetts economy," said Representative Roy. "It is the sixth largest employment sector here, and is helping to lead us out of the recession."

Representative John Fernandes, Founder and Chairman of the Joint Bi-Partisan Legislative Manufacturing Caucus, explained the caucus and its plans for working with Governor Charlie Baker’s administration on policy goals. He also encouraged the manufacturers in attendance to speak with their elected officials.

"There is a legislator in every corner of Massachusetts, so wherever there is a manufacturer located, there is a legislator,” said Rep. Fernandes. “We want to be the eyes and the ears for the administration and for the legislature, to talk to the manufacturers, find out what your issues are, so that we can take those back and drive policy, to drive budget decisions, and in addition let you know when you talk about problems what kind of resources might be out there to help you.”

Congressman Kennedy and Secretary Ash discussed the work being done at the state and federal level to aid the industry. Secretary Ash said the Baker administration is looking to engage industry experts in conversations about how they can work together. He said the administration has fought the temptation to think they know what needs to be done and is instead looking to people in the industry to learn what has and has not been working for them.

This was the third roundtable held at Tri-County in just over a year. Previous meetings focused on addressing the skilled labor shortage in Massachusetts. The group built off of this topic by discussing the need for a curriculum that prepares workers with the competencies necessary for successful employment. The group also used latest meeting to discuss the impacts of energy costs on their businesses. Congressman Kennedy said more must be done to lower costs and make New England states an attractive location for manufacturing companies.

Tri-County administrators shared an update on the progress made in opening an Advanced Manufacturing facility at the school. The school used recommendations from the previous roundtables to purchase manufacturing equipment in fall 2014. The CNC Toolroom Vertical Machining Center and the CNC Toolroom Turning Center were purchased through the FY14 Vocational Opportunity Challenge (VOC) Grant. Roundtable attendees toured the school’s new facility and received a key chain that was made with the machinery.

In January, Tri-County partnered with the Wentworth Institute of Technology to offer classes in the facility. Instructor Bob Vozzella said some of his students drive more than an hour to take the 15-week Machine Tool Setup and Operation course.

The new equipment is also used by the high school's Engineering Technology Program. The program uses a hands-on exploratory approach with state-of-the-art technologies and tools to introduce students to various engineering concepts. This machinery will allow the instructors to implement advanced manufacturing concepts as part of their curriculum.

While the two machines are a good start, the school hopes to add more equipment and expand its operations. "The state's Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative goals include the following: to increase the pipeline of new workers and manufacturers, to assist manufacturers in incumbent worker training, to adopt best practices focused on building effective, employer-driven regional partnerships,” Tri-County Superintendent-Director Stephen Dockray explained. “Our Engineering program goes to the first goal of developing a consistent supply of good workers, as will our planned Advanced Manufacturing program. Our joint Continuing Education program with Wentworth goes to the second goal, of providing incumbent worker training and re-training. And our facility provides a prime location for the third goal of building effective regional partnerships.”

seekonk, franklin, jobs, economy, manufacturing, legislators

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