The Roundtable kicked off the new year by convening Task Forces focused on key policy areas while also collaborating with external partners to advance strategies to support key priorities.

The Roundtable convened its Task Forces including: Competitiveness; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Education and Workforce Development; Energy and Environment; Healthcare and Life Sciences; and Transportation, Housing, and Infrastructure. There were many common takeaways and cross-cutting themes; most especially, talent continues to be universal to all focus areas, driven by members’ needs to stay competitive and improve diversity as today’s labor market and workforce becomes increasingly mobile. The Roundtable stayed engaged in these top issue areas through several initiatives and collaborations during the first few months of 2022.

Future of Work Commission Report

In late March, the Future of Work Commission chaired by Senator Eric Lesser and Representative Josh Cutler submitted its final report to the Massachusetts Legislature. Since June 2021, Lauren Jones, Executive Vice President of the Roundtable, has served on the Commission. The findings of the report are very consistent with feedback members have shared such as the critical role benefits now play in attracting, retaining, and developing talent; the importance of racial justice in the workplace; the evolving hybrid and remote work environment; the disruption of technology and its impact on talent – and more! Among recommendations, the Commission identified the need to “incentivize employer participation in all stages of workforce development” and noted while some employers are engaged, more employer participation in “use of investments like the Workforce Training Fund and Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund will increase the state’s capacity to train by reskilling incumbent workers and preparing unemployed and underemployed jobseekers.” The Legislature will now work toward translating some of the report’s recommendations into legislation, and the Roundtable will continue to monitor and encourage those efforts as part of our Future of Work activities. Read the full report.

Release of Early Childcare Recommendations

JD Chesloff, President & CEO of the Roundtable, was appointed a year ago to the Special Legislative Early Education and Care Economic Review Commission which was charged with “studying early education and care funding and ways to support and expand equitable access to high-quality early education and care in the Commonwealth.” In March, the Commission released its final report, concluding that the current early education and care system in Massachusetts is not meeting the needs of many young children, working families, and employers, and that building a more sustainable, affordable, equitable, and high-quality system of early education and care is critical and urgent for the future of the Commonwealth’s children, families, communities, and economy. It also underscored the importance of reliable and accessible early education and care options for working families in order to meet the workforce needs of the state’s businesses and economy. The Commission makes several comprehensive and urgent recommendations addressing the many issues facing the state’s early education and care sector. The Roundtable, working collaboratively with the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education, will continue to push for the recommendations to be included in the FY23 state budget and legislative proposals to be passed before the end of this legislative session. Read the full report.

Launch of the Massachusetts Apprentice Network

In March, the Roundtable helped to launch the Massachusetts Apprentice Network, a resource for employers to help address their hiring needs. The Roundtable in partnership with Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Accenture founded the network to introduce the value of apprenticeship as a proven hiring strategy and share best practices led by companies that have effectively leveraged this hiring model. The network is now attracting employers to join with the goal of hiring 1,000 apprentices within five years in Massachusetts. Thank you to Roundtable members Beth Israel Lahey Health, Liberty Mutual, and Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology for being among founding members of the network. Additional founding members include The Cengage Group, Wayfair, Bunker Hill Community College, and Year Up / YUPro. Network founders encourage employers or other key stakeholders to sign up and express interest in joining the network.

Roundtable Joins Massachusetts Alliance for Early College

The Massachusetts Alliance for Early College launched in February 2022 with the support by the Roundtable, Roundtable member State Street, and over 80 organizations including community-based organizations, college success organizations, business and community leaders, foundations, school districts, and higher education institutions all dedicated to increase the number of students in Early College programs in Massachusetts from 4,500 today to 45,000 in five years. Ron O’Hanley, CEO & Chairman of State Street described Early College as “a promising economic development strategy that is designed to reduce racial and social inequities in college access” and noted that as employers “work towards a diverse and inclusive workforce of the future that meets our needs for talent, it is critical for the business community to support efforts that help get students into and through college.” During a meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, its Board Chair and Roundtable member Katherine Craven thanked Governor Baker for his budget’s proposal to expand Early College from the current $11 million allocated to $18 million. The Roundtable will continue to advocate for Early College as a key priority in our broader education and workforce development agenda. Learn more about the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College.