Workforce Development & Training

New Bedford offers a network of agencies and higher education partners to meet the needs of expanding or relocating businesses looking to hire or retrain their workforce with the skills needed for the future of work.

The MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board is a business-led, policy-setting board that oversees workforce development initiatives in the ten-community region stretching from Dartmouth to Wareham, MA. Appointed by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, the Board is composed of business, civic, education, labor, and community leaders. The MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board is committed to helping job seekers, community partners, and businesses on the South Coast with workforce development needs. Check out their website for their full suite of services.

Bristol Community College’s Business Solutions & Partnerships provides the community with career and technical pathways through tailored courses and training for skill development—including a focus on post-pandemic educational and work environmentsSupporting private, public, municipal, nonprofit, and educational organizations, Business Solutions & Partnerships provides critical needs assessments for process and staffing improvements, develops and offers trainings for upskilling and customized modules, and supports attaining associated funding to ease the burden on the business community 

The Workforce Training Fund is a state fund financed entirely by Massachusetts employers and enacted into law in July 1998. Its purpose is to provide resources to Massachusetts businesses and workers to train current and newly hired employees.

The mission of the Workforce Training Fund is to provide applicants with the resources to invest in the Massachusetts workforce and improve employee skills, and to maintain the economic strength and viability of the Commonwealth’s businesses. The fund’s major focus is on small to medium-sized businesses that would not be able to make this investment without the assistance of the fund.

Training funded by this program should address the priorities of the fund:

  • Projects that will result in job retention, job growth, or increased wages.
  • Projects where training would make a difference in the company’s productivity, competitiveness, and ability to do business in Massachusetts.
  • Projects where the applicant has committed to providing significant private investment in training for the duration of the grant and after the grant has expired.
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