Skilled trades pipeline for Boston residents
At a glance
- What: city efforts to move Boston young people into the skilled building trades, funded by a Bloomberg Philanthropies grant and tied to the 2025 project labor agreement between Mayor Wu and the building trades.
- Where it stands: presented October 15, 2026 at the Docket No. 0218 hearing. Goal: grow Madison Park direct entry into registered apprenticeships from up to 50 to 100 young people a year.
- What to watch: results for trades with low resident shares, such as operators, and the 2027 cohort.
Details
- Two apprenticeship navigators are embedded at Madison Park; a "Vocation by Madison" program reaches other schools and middle-school recruitment is planned. A new machinists apprenticeship will place people with signatories such as the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. The first cohort graduated in 2026.
- 17 trades are covered by the project labor agreement. Worrell asked that programs target high-paying trades with single-digit resident shares; Jody said operators have been asked to present at Madison Park.
- FitzGerald asked whether this will raise Jobs Bank use; the office is looking at using it for graduates and co-op roles.
Sources
- 2026-10-15 - Labor, Workforce & Economic Development Committee (captioned recording; Docket No. 0218)
Discussion time
About 7 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-15 - Labor, Workforce & Economic Development Committee | 7 |
Log
- 2026-10-15 - Labor, Workforce & Economic Development Committee - Jody described the Bloomberg-funded pipeline (50 to 100 apprentices a year, navigators, Vocation by Madison); Worrell asked for more attention to high-paying trades with low resident shares.