By: Linnea Walsh

Funds will retrain former MultiLayer Coating workers for new jobs in the Commonwealth’s fastest-growing industries

BOSTON---Monday, January 14, 2008—Governor Deval Patrick today announced the designation of $107,000 in Rapid Response set-aside grant funds to the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board that will provide intensive training to 25 laid off workers from New Bedford based MultiLayer Coating Technologies, including enrollment of 10 employees in a bio-tech training program at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“This funding comes at a critical time for these individuals who are in need of a helping hand,” said Governor Patrick. “We are dedicated to deploying every resource and tool available so that these individuals can move ahead in the coming weeks and months.”

The state’s Rapid Response program, administered through the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, has been working with MultiLayer Coating since June, 2007 as the company first announced layoffs of 52 of its 225 employees. Last September, company officials announced plans to close altogether what was the site of the former Polaroid Corporation’s advanced coating technology and facilities plant, affecting the jobs of 173 remaining workers.

“Working with the area’s One-Stop Career Centers and institutions of higher learning, these workers will get the skills and training in order to get the second chance they so rightfully deserve,” said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump.

Rapid Response and Massachusetts’ One-Stop Career Centers have partnered with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute to enroll 10 former employees of Multilayer Corporation in a five-week program that will provide classroom instruction and hands-on laboratory work with training in areas such as Good Manufacturing Practices, and processes to become skilled in a career in Massachusetts’ fast-growing biomanufacturing industry. Training participants are also learning resume writing and interviewing skills specific for the biotech industry. Instructors are subject matter experts form companies such as Abbott Bioresearch, Genzyme and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

“These funds are vital to support these dedicated employees in their retraining and job placement efforts to maintain self sufficiency”, said Len Coriaty, Executive Director of the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board. “We acknowledge the support received by the Patrick Administration in obtaining this grant.”

Funds will be used to provide career counseling, assessment and job help through the area’s Massachusetts’ One-Stop Career Centers, administered by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development through the Division of Career Services, in collaboration with the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board and other community-based organizations. Impacted employees registered with the area’s One-Stop Career Centers are being notified as to the availability of this funding. 

Rapid Response set-aside funds are allocated by the US Department of Labor and in held in reserve by state governments for emergency situations. In Massachusetts, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development devotes set-aside funds to respond to workers displaced by layoffs and plant closings.

The Rapid Response team, under the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, is a federally-funded, state administered program employing 15 staff members to serve employers and workers in every region of the Commonwealth at short notice, prior to mass layoffs or plant closures. Rapid Response includes five employees of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

Services are available at no cost to employers and include on-site employee information sessions about state employment services and connecting impacted workers to other employers who are hiring, prior to their layoff effective date. For information about Rapid Response services, visit www.mass.gov/dcs.

Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board

The Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board

Connecting Employers and Job Seekers
employment - education - training

The Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment 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 Scott W. Lang, the Board is composed of business, civic, education, labor, and community leaders.

Established under federal law, the Board's Chairman is a member of the private sector. The current Chairman is Charles R. Simpson, President and CEO, First Citizens' Federal Credit Union in Fairhaven. Vice-Chairman is David DeJesus, Jr., VP Human Resources, Southcoast Hospitals Group, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford.

The Board employs a staff of full-time professionals and maintains offices in New Bedford. The Board itself consists entirely of volunteers.

All of the Board's meetings are open to the public.

227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946
PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680
Visit us on the web at: http://www.gnbwib.org

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