Amid the ongoing trend of youth departing the region, employers confront a workforce shortage, emphasizing the crucial need to support the transition from education to employment. In 2023, BTCF awarded close to $450,000 towards career-readiness initiatives, facilitating 176 internships and 339 student career exploration activities, ranging from resume workshops to career fairs.
BTCF is fortunate to have strong partnerships with local organizations that enhance our community’s future through youth career readiness programs, and support for their work comes from a variety of BTCF funds.
The Career Readiness Project at Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP) provides young people in southern Berkshire County the chance to explore career and vocational pathways through apprenticeships, mentoring, and internships. In 2023, the career programs served over 50 students with support from our South Berkshire County Fund.
Their apprenticeship programs run 6 to 8 weeks in collaboration with local businesses. The students meet weekly as a group to receive hands-on lessons in various fields. In 2023, RSYP provided Culinary, Language Exchange, Naturalist, Wellness, Ceramics, Fitness, and Radio apprenticeships. Eli Mamousette, an apprentice at Berkshire Community Radio said, “This apprenticeship pointed me to a door I didn’t even know was open. Hosting a radio show is something most people don’t realize they can just do. The RSYP apprenticeship program made it far more attainable.”
RSYP also offers a program called Railroad Street Youth Student Empowerment (RYSE), which is a 5-day, 40-hour intensive summer “boot camp” that guides young people in a focused exploration of post-high school options with comprehensive skill-building for career and college planning.
The Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) hosted 18 students in their BETA Summer Program, now named the Future Innovators Summer Session. With support from BTCF’s Community Fund, the 6-week session for high school sophomores offers a comprehensive curriculum covering entrepreneurship, 3D printing, CAD, leadership, and communication, with site visits to local companies. Weekly presentations and a final showcase, themed “Unnecessary Inventions” in 2023, blend design, engineering, and imagination.
BIC also welcomed eleven participants to the Innovation Interns program, which provides high school students with credits and summer pay for college students. The interns take on projects with BIC member firms, from established companies like Berkshire Health Systems to startups like SolaBlock. “Companies are in search of talent to help drive their missions forward, and future leaders to carry the torch. Our students will be those leaders, and the work we do right now is shaping the next generation,” said Ben Sosne, Executive Director at BIC. In 2023, BIC welcomed over 600 area students of all ages to its facility in Pittsfield and with the completion of a new workspace, BIC Works @ MassMOCA, in North Adams, they expand access to even more students in northern Berkshire County.
Greenagers provides programs that get teens and young adults involved in environmental conservation, sustainable farming, and related trades, like horticulture, masonry, arboriculture, and carpentry. Greenagers offers educational programming, as well as paid employment opportunities, which serve as many youths’ first job, teaching financial literacy basics like managing bank accounts and paychecks. Two core programs, Pathways to the Trades and Youth Stewardship Employment, allow participants to gain skills and job experience in a supportive environment. With funding from our South Berkshire County Fund, the Pathways to the Trades program engages students in building trades education and trades projects in the community. The Youth Stewardship Employment program employs about 70 youths annually in trail, farm, or building crews, lasting from 4 weeks to 8 months. The crews maintaining conserved lands in Great Barrington and beyond. “I’ve surprised myself in my ability to lead others effectively, and contribute to the smooth running of a crew,” said Issy McMahon, a Trail Crew member in 2022 who was promoted to Assistant Crew Leader in 2023, a role she returns to for summer 2024.
The MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board (BWB), operates the region’s state-funded Connecting Activities initiative that provides essential career development experiences to all youth in the K-12 public school system. The BWB has longstanding 20-year partnerships with all the region’s public school districts, providing career awareness, exploration, and immersion opportunities to students through their established Post-Secondary & Career Teams and Career Readiness Models. Examples of these experiences include career fairs, company field trips, job shadowing, internships and career pathways. The South Berkshire County Fund has provided additional resources to the BWB for the past five years to support the career readiness initiatives within the South County school districts. In the 2022-23 school year, the BWB and the South County school districts facilitated 117 internships across various sectors and provided over 1,000 students with career awareness experiences empowering students to explore diverse career paths.
The North East Community Center (NECC) serves as a vital hub for community resources in northeast Dutchess County. Supported by BTCF’s NEDCorps initiative and the Northeast Dutchess Fund, NECC’s teen programs prioritize the school-to-work transition. They establish trade apprenticeships and employment certifications in various fields like electric, plumbing, IT, and farming. NECC collaborates with local schools, including Webutuck, Dover Plains, Pine Plains, and Millbrook Public Schools, providing career counseling and internship placements. The program helps address barriers to opportunities at an individual level, fostering inclusion and improving access to programs. In 2023, NECC supported 22 young people with an array of school-to-work services, including education on resume-building, interview preparation, and other foundational workforce skills that help ensure a smooth entry into employment.
In Columbia County, N.Y., initiatives like Career Connections at Columbia-Greene Community College and Crafting for Money at the Hudson Area Library offer diverse career-readiness opportunities. In 2023, Career Connections enabled high school juniors to pursue tuition-free professional development or credentials, preparing them for college. Programs ranged from EMT Training to Product Development, with several students subsequently enrolling in college. Crafting for Money engaged around 200 young entrepreneurs, providing business tools and vending experience. Both initiatives, supported by our Fund for Columbia County, are enhancing school-to-work pathways for many young people across the county.
