In October of last year, Mayor Martin Walsh announced the creation of the Greater Boston American Apprenticeship Initiative (GBAAI) – a comprehensive apprenticeship program designed to prepare residents for careers in the fast-growing hospitality and construction industries. “We want to provide a pipeline to better-paying jobs with benefits,”
When the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) released a labor market study last March, the findings showed how much work was needed to address the city’s economic disparities: The average Boston resident, the report found, makes just over $35,000 a year, an income that barely covers expenses for many
The Aloft and Element Hotels on D Street in South Boston are the newest, best example of how commercial development, done right, can create a windfall for a community. From its innovative use of Neighborhood Jobs Trust funds to a
Just a few months ago, the graduates of BEST Corp’s first hospitality pre-apprenticeship program were strangers with one thing in common: They all knew they wanted more. Nicole Bowes had just moved back to Boston after 20 years away and
A new, wide-reaching apprenticeship program has launched this fall thanks to a $3 million federal American Apprenticeship grant. The grant proposal was spearheaded by the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) and secured with the help of its program partners.