MLSC Pathmaker Awardees celebrated during visit to JVS Boston ArLab
BOSTON — Today, Interim Economic Development Secretary Ashley Stolba, Labor & Workforce Secretary Lauren Jones, and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) President and CEO Kirk Taylor, MD, joined life sciences and workforce leaders to celebrate more than $7.2 million in recent Pathmaker awards, which have helped create 656 life sciences training opportunities across Massachusetts. The MLSC Pathmaker program provides funding to build and scale career pathways that effectively prepare Massachusetts residents for high-demand career opportunities in the life sciences.
“Creating sustainable jobs that will benefit our communities across the state has always been a key focus of our administration,” said Interim Secretary of Economic Development Ashley Stolba, who serves as co-chair of the MLSC’s Board of Directors. “Through impactful initiatives such as the Pathmaker program, we will continue to strengthen Massachusetts’ position as the national leader of economic growth and development.”
“Massachusetts is a global hub of innovation dedicated to developing diverse talent to meet the needs of the life sciences industry,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration appreciates collaborating with MLSC Pathmaker grantees and partners to expand access to training, close workforce skills gaps, and create pathways for untapped talent to pursue rewarding careers in the life sciences across the Commonwealth.”
MLSC announced the latest round of Pathmaker awards during a celebration at the ArLab, a state-of-the-art career institute hosted by JVS Boston and Quincy College with support from MLSC funding. ArLab provides hands-on skill development that equips people for careers in healthcare and biotechnology. In addition to receiving Pathmaker funding, JVS Boston and other institutions celebrated today have received more than $17.3 million in MLSC capital investments to advance workforce development and additional funds to support experiential learning opportunities.
“Seeing the career journeys of graduates that have come out of the Pathmaker program so far has been truly inspiring,” said MLSC President and CEO Kirk Taylor, MD. “The Life Sciences Center is honored to collaborate with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, our training organizations, and industry partners to help prepare Massachusetts residents for high-demand careers in the life sciences.”
Pathmaker was announced in June 2023 at the BIO International Convention as part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s launch of MassTalent, a new strategy for connecting employers to skilled, diverse workers in Massachusetts. Pathmaker aims to accelerate career entry by condensing training program timelines, harmonizing core competencies creating alignment between industry and training providers, branding training programs to signal to companies that these programs are producing ready-to-hire candidates for entry-level roles, and expanding outreach about training/career opportunities with a strong DE&I focus targeting underrepresented communities.
Pathmaker grew out of an existing group of successful partnerships between life sciences companies and training providers. It leverages Massachusetts’ robust workforce development resources and builds on prior investments made by the Center and other leaders in the ecosystem, including the state legislature.
Pathmaker awardees recognized during today’s visit:
Baystate Health
Award: $100,000
Training Seats: 10
This program focuses on two areas of employment opportunities, medical device engineering and lab work, that are in need of workforce and skill development across Western Massachusetts. To help build this needed workforce across the region, Baystate Health is implementing a bridge approach, designed to excite students and introduce them to careers they may not have previously considered.
BioBuilder Educational Foundation
Award: $144,000
Training Seats: 12
Lab-readiness and pre-professional program that teaches current life science techniques in the context of real-world application. Pathmaker graduates will be equipped with industry skills and knowledge needed to embark on a STEM career.
BioProcess Group
Award: $219,200
Training Seats: 24
Trains and places candidates into biomanufacturing roles (associates, qauality control/assurance) in the biopharmaceutical industry. The program aims to direct skilled workforce to the biopharmaceutical industry through carefully designed training and advising/coaching program.
Bioversity
Award: $1,462,800
Training Seats: 133
Certificate program designed to provide Boston and Lowell residents, 18 years and older, who have a high school diploma or GED, with a hands-on, in-person training in the technical and soft skills necessary to be hired upon graduation into entry-level scientific operations roles (e.g. lab operations, facilities, and environmental health and safety) at local life sciences companies.
HarvardMEDscience
Award: $479,398
Training Seats: 48
Collaboration between Harvard Medical School MEDscience, Project LEARN, and UMass Lowell to deliver hands-on laboratory training and skills-based professional development, while exposing participants to a wide range of potential career paths.
Just-A-Start
Award: $480,000
Training Seats: 40
Program that focuses on core competencies and career readiness skills to prepare trainees for sustainable careers in lab support and biomanufacturing technician roles.
JVS Boston
Award: $1,898,230
Training Seats: 144
Lab-based training that opens the door to careers with a high growth potential to job seekers who have historically encountered barriers entering the biotechnology field.
Middlesex Community College
Award: $1,012,438
Training Seats: 90
Industry-aligned modules covering critical technical, mechanical and soft skills necessary for successful employment in the high demand in the Medtech/Advanced Manufacturing industry.
Myra EB Systems
Award: $220,000
Training Seats: 20
Program uses virtual reality (VR) headset technology to deliver technical content related to biomanufacturing. Candidates will train core skills and competencies like gowning training, aseptic training, bioreactor operations, and chromatography operations and other skills required for biomanufacturing professionals.
Northeastern University
Award: $664,021
Training Seats: 75
Program provides hands-on training in the key areas of protein therapeutic manufacturing and cell/gene therapy manufacturing. Participants will learn the basics of manufacturing these products with an emphasis on current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Award: $600,000
Training Seats: 60
Multi-year workforce development and training initiative seeking to demystify and diversify the life sciences industry within the Central Massachusetts region, while building off the momentum and success of previous MLSC funding used to strengthen the assets, equipment foundation, and training capacity of WPI’s Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center.
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is an economic development investment agency dedicated to supporting the growth and development of the life sciences in Massachusetts, home to the most verdant and productive life sciences ecosystem in the world. Through public-private funding initiatives, the MLSC supports innovation, research and development, commercialization, and manufacturing activities in the fields of biopharma, medical device, diagnostics and digital health. Since its creation in 2007, the MLSC has strategically deployed approximately $1 billion in Massachusetts, through a combination of grants, loans, capital infrastructure investments, tax incentives and workforce programs. These investments have created thousands of jobs and propelled the development of new therapies, devices and scientific advancements that are improving patient health and well-being in Massachusetts and beyond.
###
