Thursday, September 2, 2010

FW: News from Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board

 

 


From: Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board [mailto:oneilb@nmsda.org]
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 6:01 PM
To: Bill Lipchitz
Subject: News from Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board

 



August 2010                                           

 

 

Welcome to the Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board

Greetings!

Another Summer, Another Successful Summer Jobs Program

 

The Career Center of Lowell hired 497 youth, ages 14-24 from the region to work this summer. Our employer partners were located throughout the Greater Lowell area and included municipal and nonprofit organizations. The program started the first week of July and ended August 18, 2010. Each youth worked 25 hours a week at the Massachusetts minimum wage of $8 per hour. The Youth Summer Jobs Program was funded in part by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, YouthWorks, and the Charles F. Shannon Grant. The GLWIB would like to thank all of the 96 employer worksites for another successful summer!

 

GLWIB Meeting & Events

  • September 10, 2010 - Northeast Energy Sector Partnership, 2:00 pm-3:30 pm, GLWIB, 107 Merrimack St, Lowell MA
  • September 15, 2010 - GLWIB Quarterly, 7:30 am - 9:00 am, UMass Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell, MA 01852
  • September 17, 2010 - GLWIB Youth Council Meeting, 2:00 pm, Career Center of Lowell, 107 Merrimack St, Lowell MA
  • September 28, 2010 -  Workforce Issues Committee, 9:00 am - 10:00 am, GLWIB, 107 Merrimack St, Lowell MA
  • September 29, 2010 - Executive Board, 8:00 am - 9:00 am, GLWIB, 107 Merrimack St, Lowell MA

Community Events

  • September 9, 2010 - Workforce Training Fund Info Sessions, 8:30 am -10:00 am, Middlesex Community College, Federal Building, 50 Kearney Square Lowell MA 01852
  • September 10, 2010 - Workforce Training Fund Info Sessions, 8:30 am -10:00 am, Middlesex Community College, Meetinghouse, 294 Concord Rd, Billerica MA
  • September 15, 2010 - Chelmsford Town Business Day, 7:30 am - 9:30 am, Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, Chelmsford Public Library, 25 Boston Rd, Chelmsford MA
  • September 23, 2010 - 2010 Business Expo, 2:00 pm-6:00 pm, Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, Radisson Hotel, 10 Independence Drive, Chelmsford MA
  • September 24, 2010 - Middlesex Community College Grand Gala, 7:00 pm-11:00-m, Middlesex Community College, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 East Merrimack St. Lowell MA

 

 

 

Middlesex Community College Corporate and Community Education and Training

 

Greater Lowell WIB partner, Middlesex Community College (MCC) is dedicated to advancing the economic growth and vitality of the area's businesses and organizations. Through MCC's Business & Industry Programs, training in areas such as Human Resources, CAD, Clean Energy, and other topics of interest can be presented on-site, as well as on campus and online.  Cost-effective courses, both credit and non-credit, are tailored specifically to a company's needs and offered at times that will accommodate workforce schedules. 

 
MCC's Community Education and Training Department offers quality non-credit opportunities that address a broad cross section of interests and needs of people of all ages and diverse backgrounds. Opportunities for training range from career training in Technical Writing, Gerontology, Health Careers, and Graphic Design, to personal enrichment courses such as Selling on E-Bay, Safe/Smart/Fun Travel, Wine Tasting, and others.

Both Corporate and Community Education and Training at MCC are committed to partnering with companies and individuals to provide timely, thought-provoking opportunities for lifelong learning.  For more information, check out MCC's Corporate and Community Education website at
http://www.middlesex.mass.edu/comed_busind/ or call Julie Kimball at 978-656-3009.

 

 

 

Member Corner

 

Name: Russ Smith
Title: Executive Director
Organization: Lowell Small Business Association

Website: www.lowellsmallbusiness.org








About Member:

Russ Smith has served as the Executive Director of the Lowell Small Business Assistance (LSBA) Center for the last eight years and is active on issues affecting the small business community in Lowell and surrounding communities.He is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio and has an MBA from the University of Connecticut at Storrs. He spent most of his career in corporate America working for companies like Xerox and MCI, in senior-level sales and marketing management. While on Wall Street, he developed trading room systems for the investment banking community and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. At Bank of Boston, he developed a network to capture and disseminate information on international trade opportunities from around the world.

 

In 1993 Russ founded Sales and Marketing Search Inc. which grew to become the 5th largest recruiting firm in Eastern Massachusetts.  After eight years Russ sold the company to an employee in order to pursue his passion for teaching.It was while teaching at North Shore Community College and Hesser College, he became involved with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) where he counseled people starting small businesses, eventually becoming Vice Chair of the Northeast Massachusetts SCORE Chapter.

 

He has thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Center. "I was exploring teaching opportunities with Middlesex Community College and came away with the best job I've ever had" says Russ. "I get go to work every day and help people with their dreams, what could be better than that?"

 

Russ is a member of the Massachusetts Small Business Assistance Advisory Committee that advises the administration and legislature on matters affecting small businesses. He is also a member on the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council which works to increase access to banking services in low income communities. Locally, Russ is a member of The Center City Committee and of course the Greater Lowell WIB and serves on the Workforces Issues Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee.


About Organization:

The Lowell Small Business Assistance Center was founded in 1999 by Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI), in collaboration with Middlesex Community College (MCC), and the City of Lowell Division of Planning and Economic Development.  More recently, UMass Lowell has joined the collaboration. The mission of the Center is to provide training and resources for people to start, grow and sustain small businesses. The Center has now provided over 11,000 services overall, including helping to start well over 300 businesses that have created over 450 jobs.

 

The Center provides a number of services including entrepreneurial training, seminars, crisis intervention, and technical assistance.However most importantly, Russ and his colleagues at the Center help people make decisions that are right for them. They help people make sure they are ready to start their own businesses. He also does a program at the Career Center of Lowell called "Starting A Small Business".

 

The Center is very interested in providing entrepreneurial training to disadvantaged youth.  Starting a small business is about imagining and planning for the future and it also builds bridges between what is being learned in the classroom and its real world application. The programs have been a success helping kids learn about real life situations.

 

The Center is one of the first Centers of its kind in the country. It has served as a model for many cities in the US and the world.  The City of West Palm Beach cited the Center as a best practice as have numerous academic studies on economic development. LSBA Center staff participated in the development of similar centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and St. Louis, Senegal, which were patterned on the LSBA.

 

Upcoming Projects:

In addition to the many projects and services the LSBA provides, the Center is establishing a microloan fund with the assistance of the U.S. Small Business Administration as well as area banks and credit unions. The Center will begin accepting applications this fall, with the first loans being rewarded in January of 2011.

 

The LSBA has received state funding to develop a Financial Literacy for Business Owners, to help small business owners understand what their financial statement is really telling them, among many other topics. For more information on the Lowell Small Business Assistance Center, you can visit their website: http://www.lowellsmallbusiness.org

 

 

 

Issue: 16

 

 

In This Issue

Spotlight Events

MCC Corporate and Community Ed and Training

Member Corner:Russ Smith

Healthcare Partnership Update

Energy Sector Partnership Update

Congrats to Saints

Latest Labor Market Info Report

 

Academy of Health Professions Partnership Update

Training for the GLWIB/Middlesex Community College Academy for Health Professions Partnership kicked off in July with the Non-credit Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course, as well as the Phlebotomy and Medical Secretary certificate tracks. Additionally, the CNA and Medical Receptionist certificate coursework will begin in November at Middlesex Community College.


If you or anyone you know is interested in an entry-level career in healthcare, employed or unemployed, please contact
Dawn Al-Shurafa at the Career Center of Lowell or call (978) 805-4724 for more information.

 

 

 

Northeast Energy Sector Partnership Update

In association with the Massachusetts State Energy Sector Partnership (MA-SESP), the Northeast Energy Sector Partnership (NESP) is a collaboration between the GLWIB, North Shore and Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Boards as well as one-stop career centers; businesses in the renewable energy/energy efficiency RE/EE field; three community colleges; labor representatives and may include in the future, vocational-technical schools and community-based organizations.

On a grant funding totaling $950,000, the Northeast Energy Sector Partnership will bring businesses, workforce development organizations and educators together with local residents to provide critical occupational training and opportunities to enter the clean/green industry workforce. The goal of the program is to work with over 200 individuals, employed and unemployed, over the next two years in securing both employment as well as enhancing their skills

Training for the Northeast Energy Sector Partnership will begin this fall. For more detailed information on this program please contact
Barbara O'Neil

 

 

 

Congrats to Saints Medical Center

The GLWIB would like to congratulate our partner Saints Medical Center on receiving the 2009-2010 Best in Value Award from the Press Ganey Hospital Value Index.

The award was the result of a study done by Data Advantage, LLC, the nation's leader in measuring healthcare value, Saints ranked among the top tier of all hospitals nationwide, achieving high marks in quality, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction.

This was the second national honor that Saints has received in recent weeks. The hospital has been recognized by the Premier Healthcare Alliance as a winner of the Premier Award for Quality (AFQ). Saints was one of 21 hospital winners and three healthcare systems nationwide to be selected, and only one of two hospitals in Massachusetts to receive the distinction.

Congratulations to our partner and keep up the good work!

 

 

 

New Labor Market Information Data Released

The Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development released the latest annual Greater Lowell regional labor market profile recently. Click
here to view the full report.

 

 

 

Latest Job and Unemployment Rates

MA Recovery

 

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If anyone on our mailing list has any news or events they would like to share or announce, please contact:
Shaun McCarthy



 

Editor: Shaun McCarthy

 

www.glwib.org                                                                                      www.careercenteroflowell.org/

 

 

Barbara O'Neil                                                                                                               Kevin Coughlin
Director                                                                                                                          Chair

Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board

 

 

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Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board | 107 Merrimack St | Lowell | MA | 01850

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