Berkshire Skills Cabinet
The Berkshire Skills Cabinet updated its Berkshire Blueprint Priority Industries and Occupations in October 2021. Click here for the current chart. Priority Chart 10-21
The Berkshire Skills Cabinet sets regional priorities for funding/initiatives and meets 3-4 times annually. Visit http://www.masshireberkshire.com to view upcoming meetings and materials.
November 16, 2021 Berkshire Data Set – MA WSC Berkshires convening pre-read materials
On behalf of the Regional Skills Team, the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board has prepared a Berkshire Workforce Blueprint 2020 Update. The following document includes proposed changes to our priority occupations, reporting on resource acquisition and pipeline expansion, a progress report, and a COVID-19 addendum which discusses where our workforce is currently amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Berkshire Workforce Blueprint has been approved by the Commonwealth. The final version can be downloaded below. The Berkshire Regional Skills Team will continue to convene to discuss strategy implementation. Priority Industries/Occupations chart: Modified Chart (March 2020) 2020 Priority Industries chart 3-20
Original chart: Priority Industries Chart 10-19
Berkshire 2019 Data Package Update – Data Deck Final 10-19 As part of the Regional Workforce Skills Planning Initiative, the labor market data provided in this package will help the Berkshire Skills Cabinet confirm regional high priority industries and occupations and evaluate any new demographic, labor pool, and talent pipeline consideration impacting workforce skills gaps.
Modified Berkshire Workforce Blueprint (June 2019) Metrics revision proposed 4-29-19
Berkshire Priority Industry Asset Mapping (May 2019) Asset mapping 3-19
The MassHire Berkshire Career Center seeking Staffing/Consultant to implement 2018-2019 strategies. The Request for Funding Qualifications can be found below.
On behalf of the Berkshire Regional Skills Team, the MassHire Berkshire Career Center has prepared a DRAFT Berkshire Labor Market Blueprint for submission to the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet as required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Created by Governor Charles Baker, the Skills Cabinet is comprised of the Secretariats from the Executive Office of Education, Labor and Workforce Development, and Housing and Economic Development, and is charged with creating and implementing a strategy to ensure that individuals can develop and continuously improve their skills and knowledge to meet the varying hiring needs of employers across the Commonwealth.Following a prescribed template as outlined by the state, Berkshire Regional Skills Team, comprised of regional leaders representing the three executive branches and other community leaders, have drafted components of the Blueprint between May 2017-January 2018 The federal legislation requires that the document include a 30-day public comment period.Interested parties can obtain a draft of the Berkshire Labor Market Blueprint by visiting the http://www.BCREB.comBerkshire Blueprint 2018. Paper copies are also available at the BCREB Office at 66 Allen Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 between the hours of 8AM-4PM.
MassHire Berkshire Career Center
66 Allen Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Email: Heather@masshireberkshire.com
All comments will be reviewed and incorporated into the final Berkshire Workforce Blueprint and submitted to the Commonwealth by March 9th, 2018. Thank you in advance for your input.
STATE STRATEGY
Goal 1: Align economic, workforce, and education systems to coordinate systems based on skill needs in regions.
The Governor has designated a new set of regional boundaries that roll up existing workforce development areas into a smaller set of regions. The new configuration organizes the 16 Workforce Investment Areas into 7 regions.

MA WIOA Workforce Development Regions
The purpose of the regional planning under the Workforce Skills Cabinet (WSC) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is to use the same regional boundaries between economic development, workforce, education and key partners to identify business demand for skills, create regional strategies, and align existing resources to this process. The goal is to ensure that regional employers, educators, economic development entities, regional planning organizations and workforce training officials are coordinated in a way that creates strong talent pipelines, for both middle-skilled and highly skilled jobs. A Labor Market Blueprint with strategies will be developed as an end-product to this process.
RELEVANT LINKS
- Berkshire Regional Team
- 1st Berkshire Session – May 1, 2017 – Workforce Demand data BerkshireDeck_5.2
- 2nd Berkshire Session – July 18, 2017 – Workforce Supply data tool is too large to upload. Click Here to access DropBox documents from all regional sessions. Click on Berkshires to access the 2nd PPT session. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e2lgr0mhl5la0qy/AAARAn5IX_TzPh9WPIghF-F7a?dl=0
- Request for Qualifications – Issued August 1st. Due August 28th by 12 noon. RFQ 7-17. Camoin Associates has been hired to conduct the Berkshire Regional Skills Blueprint.
- RFQ Questions – Updated 8.8.17 RFP Q&As 8-17
- Blueprint template
- 3rd Berkshire Session – October 18, 2017 – refinement and vision and mission development Berkshire Session 3 10-17finalNotes – 10-18 Session III Employer Focus Groups
- 4th Berkshire Session – November 13, 2017 – mission and strategy development Berkshire Session 4 11-13-17 Notes – Session IV Notes 11-17
- Peer-to-Peer presentation November 16, 2017 Berkshire Peer to Peer 11-16-17Final
- 5th Berkshire Session – December 6, 2017 – refinement and blueprint development Notes – Session #5 12-17
- Priority Industries & Occupations – Critical Industries & Occupations Dashboard
- DRAFT Berkshire Blueprint for Public Comment until March 2, 2018 – Berkshire Blueprint 2018