While improving Madison Park will provide its students today and those in the future with the opportunity to find good jobs, the business community is joining our effort because it recognizes its own need to meet its labor force needs. As James Rooney, the CEO and President of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, has put it: “As the only comprehensive CVTE school in the Boston Public Schools, Madison Park is in a unique position to serve as a talent pipeline for industries and employers across the region. By working with regional employers to tailor curriculum and experiential learning opportunities to the jobs and skills required for the future workforce, CVTE schools and our region’s employers have the same goal: a dynamic pipeline of competitive graduates who can fill in-demand jobs, begin prosperous careers, and drive our region’s continued economic success.”

Official projections of Massachusetts job openings suggest how important this pipeline will be. For example, it is anticipated there will be 1,130 annual job openings for machinists, 2,650 for heavy tractor trailer drivers, 4,400 for home health aides, and nearly 5,000 for nursing assistants.

The large number of job openings will result from a combination of a natural growth of jobs in a wide range of occupations plus the retirement over the next decade of a large portion of the baby boom generation.