New economic realities have created a need for workforce and education policies that better meet employer demands for skilled workers and the needs of workers for economic self-sufficiency. To address these demands, there is growing evidence that workforce and education systems should be reorganized around “career pathways” that integrate education, training and work and are targeted to high wage, high demand employment. Central to the “career pathways” model is the development of clear connections, or bridges, between basic skills development and entry-level work or training in high wage, high demand career sectors.(1)

Massachusetts Looks Outward for New Models

The workforce community then began scanning the country for viable models and found that several national practitioners and think tanks were reporting success with sector projects and career ladder development efforts. Practitioners began to compare their own accomplishments with these promising practices and reaffirmed that the most successful programs appeared regional, had an industry focus, were supported by unions and industry associations, and reflected a deep understanding of labour markets and the people who make them run.

Simultaneously, local funders began to express a willingness or interest to further invest in these kinds of models. The practitioner community became flooded with new workshops, coalitions, and committees dedicated to researching and disseminating career ladder approaches and sector project models. It is on the foundation of this vastly complex array of efforts by hundreds of individuals that the following initiative rests.

Enter the BEST Initiative

In April of 2001, Jane Swift, the former governor of Massachusetts, established a task force to reform adult education and worker training as her first initiative upon becoming governor.(2) One of the specific recommendations of the task force involved the creation of a new program — the Building Essential Skills Through Training (BEST) Initiative. BEST was conceived to help meet the demand for more highly skilled workers through a model of integrated workforce development services. It was set up as a grant program that would award two-year start-up and support funds to regional workforce partnerships. Required partners included employers, education/training providers, local workforce boards, and employees or organized labour. The program was designed to meet three overarching goals: