On Thursday, October 14, 2004, the Manufacturing Advancement Center hosted the Manufacturing Our Future Summit in conjunction with the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Expo.
Vocational Excellence
The focus of the Summit was to highlight the six area vocational schools and their products and services: Assabet Valley Technical High School, Bay Path Regional Vocation High School, Blackstone Valley Technical High School, Leominster Center for Technical Education, Montachusett Regional Technical High School, and Worcester Vocation High School. The goal was to connect these schools with businesses via the Central Mass. Regional Employment Board. In addition, the first annual Milton P. Higgins Scholarship of Excellence Awards were awarded to 15 vocational students. The award recipients were recognized at the luncheon by Prentiss Higgins, grandson of Milton P. Higgins the founder of vocational education in Massachusetts.
Breakout Sessions
The Summit consisted of 6 breakout sessions and a luncheon program. Speakers for the luncheon program were Congressman James P. McGovern; Paul Kennedy, President Kennedy Die Castings;ne Edmonds, Director of Workforce Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and the keynote speaker was John Morgridge, Chairman of Cisco Systems.
Jobs Training
The Central Massachusetts REB is working towards virtual jobs training, which provides the opportunity for the vocational schools to connect their extended education services to the community. These extended education programs provide career retraining to individuals to prepare them for a new career and opportunities for a brighter future.
Next Year’s Summit: October 6, 2023
Next year’s Summit will be a continuation of this collaboration and will highlight the area’s colleges. The collaborative of schools is working on planning and organizing next year’s event, which is tentatively set for October 6, 2005.
