Letter to the Editor at the Boston Globe: Lauren Jones

Robert Weisman’s “Biotech bound, but with a blue collar” (Page A1, Dec. 26, 2023) highlighted inspiring apprentice stories from Massachusetts’ thriving biotech industry. These are exactly the types of opportunities we need to expand for untapped and aspiring talent across Massachusetts. While the state’s unemployment rate remains low, there are discouraged and disconnected individuals on the sidelines and far too many underemployed workers with the potential to succeed with the right supports. That is why the Healey-Driscoll administration has expanded registered apprenticeship to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in construction and has grown registered apprenticeship in fields such as biotech, financial services, cybersecurity, and health care and human services.

The administration further supported registered apprenticeship through its recent tax package by increasing and extending the Registered Apprenticeship Tax Credit program to reach more industries. We appreciate partners such as the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, spotlighted in the Globe story, that are turning this proven and effective model into scalable programs that will reach talent today and in the future.

Lauren Jones
Secretary of labor and workforce development
Boston

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