North Shore Critical Industries and Growth Careers
NORTH SHORE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD
November 10, 2014
North Shore Workforce Investment Board
•One of 16 WIBS in Massachusetts
•Headquartered in Salem and serving 19 cities
and towns north of Boston
•Board is business led but includes other
members
•Budget of about $6 million
•Performs labor market research, manages
career centers
•Provides funding for individuals (including
youth) and companies to address their
workforce needs.
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Coming Soon – December 2014 our new Labor Market Blue Print!
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Labor Force Blueprint
What we looked at:
-Number of Jobs
-Skill and Education Requirements, and Wages of Critical
Occupations
-Career Ladder Opportunities
-Level of Interaction with Workforce System
-Projections of future employment opportunities
-“Horse-Sense”
Critical Industries Identified:
• Health Care
•Construction Trades
•Manufacturing
•Financial Services
•Life Sciences (emerging industry)
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Critical Industry Employment on the North Shore 2003-1st
Q 2013
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
2003
2004
Healthcare
2005
2006
2007
2008
Durable Goods Manufacturing
Current Employment Levels:
• Health Care 34,872
• Durable Goods Manufacturing 12,238
• Construction 6,896
• Financial Services 5,487
2009
2010
Construction
2011
2012
1st
Q2013
Finance & Insurance
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Three Industry ‘sectors’ and careers within
• Healthcare
• Manufacturing
• Life Sciences
 Why these three?
• Career pathways
• Good paying jobs
• Occupations that can cross-over into other
industries
• Focus of state and federal
legislature/government
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Health Care Sector
Why Important:
• Health Care is a growing industry
• Aging population
• Technological advances
• All resulting in growth of good jobs!
 Career Pathways Opportunities……
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Nursing Assistant
Duties: Dressing, cleaning, and feeding patients, participating as a critical part of the
patient care team.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: Certificate (100 hours of outside training: 75
hours classroom, 25 hours clinical); fluency in written and spoken English; ability
to use technology for record keeping and communication; excellent
interpersonal and customer service skills.
Advancement Pathways:
CNA  Licensed Practical Nurse  Registered Nurse
CNA  Medical Technician  Medical Technologist
CNA  Receptionist  Medical Records Clerk
Requirements for Advancement: Certificates or two- or four-year degrees must be
obtained for LPN, RN, Medical Assistant, and Medical Technologist positions.
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Critical Occupation – Healthcare
Medical Assistant
Duties: Taking medical histories, recording vital signs, processing records, collecting
and preparing laboratory specimens.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: Certificate and/or on-the-job training,
interpersonal skills.
Advancement Pathways:
MA  Licensed Practical Nurse  Registered Nurse
MA  Medical Technician  Medical Technologist
MA  Radiological Technician
Requirements for Advancement: Certificates or two- or four-year degrees must be
obtained for LPN, RN, Medical Technician, and Medical Technologist positions.
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Critical Occupation - Healthcare
Housekeepers (Environmental Service, Unit Service)
Duties: Changing beds and rooms; cleaning floors, walls, and other surfaces; and performing other
maintenance tasks as needed. In some cases (Unit Service Aides), these duties are combined
with feeding patients and obtaining supplies, among other tasks. In one hospital, these
positions were provided by an outside service company on a contractual basis.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: None; some hospitals do not require English skills for these
positions, while others require basic fluency to communicate with patients and family
members and read instructions.
Advancement Pathways:
Housekeeper  Certified Nursing Assistant
Requirements for Advancement: Complete CNA training; English as a Second or Other Language.
Obtain skills through in-house courses (computers, medical terminology) or college programs.
Food Service Worker
Duties: Preparing and serving meals, cleaning food preparation areas.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: Fluency in English, multilingual ability often preferred;
interpersonal skills.
Advancement Pathways:
Food Service Worker  Assistant Cook  Cook
Requirements for Advancement: On-the-job training, positive work history.
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Critical Occupations - Healthcare
Manufacturing Sector
Why Important:
• Lots of good paying jobs
• Massachusetts is investing heavily in
training
• Aging Workforce
• Technological advances – clean, safe and
very skilled jobs
• All resulting in growth of good jobs!
 Career Pathways Opportunities……
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Assembler
Duties: Assembling mechanical, electromechanical, and/or electronic equipment;
using hand tools, soldering irons, and microscopes. Assuring quality and
communicating problems with other team members and supervisors. Will
involve some testing and troubleshooting of components.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: High school degree; English language
communication skills, mechanical ability; familiarity with blueprints and
schematics; assembly experience preferred. Associate’s degree, certificate,
and/or equivalent experience required for complex assembly positions.
Advancement Pathways:
Assembler 1  Assembler 2  Assembler 3  Machine Operator (involves more
electromechanical assembly and precision work)
Assembler  Technician  Senior Technician  Engineer
Assembler  Machine Operator  Lead/Foreman  Supervisor
Requirements for Advancement: Demonstrated performance and initiative. For
technician positions and above, acquisition of trade school certificate, associate’s
degree, bachelor’s degree, or equivalent training.
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Critical Occupations – Durable Goods Manufacturing
Technician (Test Technician, Mechanical or Electrical Technician)
Duties: Testing, troubleshooting, and, in some cases, repairing components; using
microscopes and other precision instruments; working with engineers to rectify
problems; in some cases, preparing graphs, charts, and tabulations of data.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: Associate’s degrees, particularly in Electrical
Engineering (ASEE) in some cases; demonstrated skills, acquired on the job, in
testing and maintaining electronic, mechanical, and/or optic equipment.
Specialized knowledge may be required in some positions, including experience
with vacuum or lighting systems. Strong writing skills needed to prepare reports.
Advancement Pathways
Technician  Senior Technician  Engineer
Assembly Technician  Senior Technician  Senior Mechanical Technician or
Electrical Technician
Technician  Senior Technician  Supervisor
Requirements for Advancement: Acquisition and demonstration of technical skills
on the job, through on-site courses, or through acquisition of two- or four-year
college degrees.
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Critical Occupations – Durable Goods Manufacturing
Life Sciences Sector
Why Important:
•Growing Industry – 600 in Massachusetts,
over 84+ on the North Shore
• Brings creative minds to the region (keeps
them here as well…)
• Turns research into products and services
to help people
•All resulting in economic growth and good
jobs!
 Career Pathways Opportunities……
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Medical Equipment Preparers (Central Sterile Supply Technician, Instrument
Technician, or Central Processing Technician)
Duties: Prepare laboratory equipment for sterilization and operate steam
autoclaves. Examine equipment for defects; keep records of inventory and
usage. In some cases, may perform routine laboratory tasks.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: High school diploma/GED with moderate-onthe-job-training, post-secondary certificate is needed in completive job markets.
Demonstrated skills, acquired on the job, in monitoring, quality control, critical
thinking, and troubleshooting.
Advancement Pathways:
Medical Equipment Preparer  Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist
Medical Equipment Preparers  Medical Equipment Repairers  Supervisor
Requirements for Advancement: Acquisition of a two- or four-year college degrees.
Advancement opportunities may come through demonstration of technical skills
on the job.
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Critical Occupations – Life Sciences
Chemistry Technician (Chemical Analyst, Research Technician, Quality Control
Technician)
Duties: Conduct laboratory tests to assist scientists in analyses of solids, liquids, and
gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes,
quality control, maintenance of environmental standards, and other work
involving experimental, theoretical, or practical application of chemistry and
related sciences.
Critical Degrees, Credentials, Skills: Associates degree in applied science or
chemistry/chemical technology. Background in statistics and computer science is
important because technicians routinely do data analysis and modeling.
Advancement Pathways:
Chemistry Technician  Chemist (Bachelor’s)  Chemist (Master’s/Ph.D.)
Chemistry Technician  Chemist  Material Scientist or Biochemist
Requirements for Advancement: Acquisition of a four-year college degree to
become a chemist. Future advancement will come from demonstrated skill in
applied research and increased educational attainment.
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Critical Occupations – Life Sciences
Common Skills Across all 3 Sectors
• Math, Math, Math
• Communication
• Good writing and speaking
• Customer service and sales
• Ability to work as a TEAM member
• Lean Principles – work at making the
process better
• General understanding of business
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Contact Information
Ed O’Sullivan, Director Program and Operations,
ed@northshorewib.com
NORTH SHORE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD
70 Washington Street
Suite 314
Salem, MA 01970
Tel. 978.741.3805
www.northshorewib.com