Springfield Initiative Receives National Funding for Workforce-development Strategy
Since 2016, the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC), through its Springfield WORKS initiative, has brought together employers, educators, community leaders, the city, and residents to address how to meet the economic needs of both Springfield residents and local businesses. As a result of this collaboration, it became clear that there was a need to increase employer engagement to hire locally and invest in upskilling for worker advancement. To that end, a partnership developed between the EDC and Baystate Medical Center (BMC), the largest employer in the region, to bring such strategies to fruition in Springfield. The BMC/EDC team was awarded $125,000 from the Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s Family Prosperity Innovation Community for a project that seeks to engage more employers in identifying and addressing institutional practices and policies that will support their growth and development of low-wage, entry-level employees and better access to career pathways, and simultaneously provide ready access to employment for residents from surrounding limited-opportunity neighborhoods.