Two Central Massachusetts nonprofits received a combined $1 million in grants to boost their workforce development initiatives as part of a $5.9-million funding package disbursed across the state by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Open Sky Community Services in Worcester and Polus Center for Social and Economic Development in Athol received $500,000 each for separate workforce development programs, the Gov. Maura Healey Administration announced Wednesday.
Open Sky will partner with Worcester nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation to use their funds to train and place 50 participants in social and human service assistant roles. All of the grants are intended to target underemployed or underemployed members of the workforce in Massachusetts.
“This new grant award enables us to expand the geographic reach of our work and focus on human services roles that are particularly challenging to recruit for, while continuing to offer meaningful training and work opportunities for underserved populations,” Ken Bates, president and CEO of Open Sky, said in the Healey announcement.
The Polus Center for Social and Economic Development will use its $500,000 to support training and placement services for 72 people for teaching assistant and special education roles. Polus will work on this project in tandem with Fitchburg Public Schools, Gardner Public Schools, Fitchburg Public Schools Paraprofessional Union, Worcester Public Schools, and Narragansett Regional School District.
The funding comes from Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grants, which are funded by the EOLWD and administered by the quasi-public workforce development agency Commonwealth Corp., through the state’s Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund.
Monica Benevides is a correspondent for Worcester Business Journal.
