Finally, this is a broader comment, not just informed by our sector project work: you have to realize that relationships go through different stages and you will have dissension and the key is how you deal with the dissension. We’re not into a harmony model here.

I’d like to close by saying that the success of our efforts owes itself at least in part to our persistence. When I begin building a relationship with the CEO at a company or hospital, I didn’t take no for an answer. And in the case of our heath care industry, staffing shortage at our hospitals is so severe so that if you offer something that would appear to address this pressing issue, the employers want to come on board.

Strengths and Limitations of BEST

The BEST Initiative grantees are part of a growing movement toward sector projects as a response to the challenges of workforce development in Massachusetts. BEST has enabled workforce development stakeholders to continue creating career ladders in sectors where collaborations were in early stages of development. In its ten months of operation, over 900 incumbent workers received education and training services, tailored to the needs identified by 43 active and engaged industry partners. Thus far, all the BEST projects are successfully addressing the problem of supervisor reluctance to employee training and skill development. It is broadly recognized that without supervisor support, employees may face barriers when trying to apply their newly acquired skills and competencies. Since its inception, the funding partners(3) have supported the BEST Initiative by providing technical assistance to the projects and through a flexible, enlightened support of the programmatic challenges that have arisen through this innovative initiative.

The Initiative’s third party evaluator, Dr. Erin Flynn, Vice President of FutureWorks, has shared some of her early observations.

With the inclusion of community-based organizations and one-stop career centres in the workforce partnerships, these groups have performed a key function by managing the screening and recruitment of qualified candidates for BEST training. Employers at several sites have noted that this is a cost-effective, efficient and valuable service of which they were previously unaware.