Baker-Polito Administration Awards $14.6 Million in Skills Grants to Educational Institutions Across the Commonwealth ~ Including $182,572 to YouthBuild Lowell at Community Teamwork Inc.
GLOUCESTER — Community Teamwork’s YouthBuild of Greater Lowell Program received a Skills Capital Grant in the amount of $182,572. This will allow YouthBuild’s Culinary Arts vocational program to purchase a catering van and expand the program by 50 percent and improve the quality of its program for at-risk youth who participate.
A successful Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant requires strong partnership with both area employers and the workforce development system. YouthBuild Lowell was strongly supported in its’ application for this grant by two of its Employer partners, Aramark, which operates kitchens and food services for UMass Lowell, Tewksbury Hospital, and the Lowell Public Schools; and Stones Hospitality Group, which operates Cobblestones and Moonstones restaurants. Additionally the MassHire Greater Lowell Workforce Development Board and the MassHire Greater Lowell Career Center supported the application to continue to assist YouthBuild Lowell to expand and increase the quality of its youth occupational skills training program.
YouthBuild’s Program Manager, Siobhan Sheehan said, “YouthBuild Lowell is very appreciative of this grant award which supports our efforts to expand our programming, and helps us grow our social enterprise efforts through catering, in addition to our culinary occupational skills training program. We will serve more at-risk youth in a state of the art vocational kitchen with this equipment grant.”
The program is a 10-month vocational training program which offers education, training, work experience, and life skills training that maximize the likelihood that participants will be employed in the culinary industry. Students earn HiSet, OSHA 10, Allergen Awareness, the nationally recognized Hospitality/Culinary NRAEF Restaurant Ready credential, and Serv Safe Manager’s certification.
YouthBuild is one of the 54 educational institutions that Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito announced Tuesday as recipients of the Skills Capital Grants which totaled $14.6 million. The Skill Grants are used to update equipment and expand student enrollment in programs that provide career education. Also in attendance at the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) were Education Secretary James Peyser, Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy.
The competitive grants are awarded to educational institutions that exhibit partnerships with local businesses, as well as support curriculum and credentials with industry demand to maximize hiring opportunities in each region of the state.
About YouthBuild of Greater Lowell
Community Teamwork’s YouthBuild program offers a path forward to independence and self-sufficiency to these at-risk youth by providing career pathways and alternative education for those who do not succeed in traditional educational settings. They can chose between two tracks: Construction and Culinary Arts. All of YouthBuild students are low-income and in need of a High School Equivalency (HiSet) and comprehensive support to address their barriers to employment. Mentoring and strong adult role models within the program are critical.
About the Skills Capital Grants awarded by Governor Baker’s Workforce Skills Cabinet
The Skills Capital Grants are awarded by Governor Baker’s Workforce Skills Cabinet, which was created in 2015 to bring together the Secretariats of Education, Labor and Workforce Development, and Housing and Economic Development to align education, economic development and workforce policies in order to strategize around how to meet employers’ demand for skilled workers in every region of the Commonwealth.
Program and Event Contact:
Siobhan Sheehan, Program Director, YouthBuild
978.459.0551
Media Contact:
Julia Ripa, Communications and Marketing Manager
978.459.0551
PICTURE CREDIT: Credit for the picture should be attributed to Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office.
