MassHire Berkshires Hires New Staff

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Heather Boulger, executive director of MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board announced the recent addition of Rebecca Lilley to fill the position of Office Executive and the hire of Paul Mattingly as the Manager of Industry Relations.
 
As the Office Executive, Rebecca Lilley will be managing all aspects of the office and accounting functions of the Board. Lilley will be providing human resources and coordinating staff training. She will also be responsible for database management, document control and regulatory compliance. Lilley was previously the General Manager of 33Main and worked as the assistant town clerk/collector for the Town of Great Barrington.
 
As the Manager of Industry Relations, Paul Mattingly will be engaging employers throughout Berkshire County to define their workforce needs and assist with recruitment and retention strategies. He will be coordinating relevant training grants to bring more skilled-workers into the workforce and develop a pipeline of future workers, expanding the career ladders within the manufacturing, hospitality, and healthcare sectors. Mattingly will be also be overseeing the Berkshire Skill's Cabinet and leading Industry Advisory Committees to identify retention and recruitment strategies, funding strategies, and training opportunities. Additionally he will also be leading the Market Maker initiative for the Berkshires.
 
Mattingly was previously with Berkshire Community College as the Director of Workforce Development: Advanced Manufacturing where he focused on facilitating trainings and workshops to help people gain the needed skills to enter the manufacturing industry, as well as helping to strengthen the existing workforce through upskilling opportunities. In addition to programs offered at BCC he also assisted in facilitating manufacturing training at the Berkshire County House of Corrections. Prior to his time at BCC he spent 13 years in the manufacturing industry working in specially metals distribution and the firearms industry where he gained a wide range of experience in multiple facets of the manufacturing industry. Mr. Mattingly graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a B.A. in Political Science.
 
MassHire Berkshire meets the employment needs of businesses and workers by supporting partnerships with industry, education and workforce organizations. They design and execute workforce development programs across the Berkshires that strengthen the skills of Berkshire youth and adults. They create training programs and pathways to connect people to an array of employment opportunities and career readiness activities while meeting the needs of business.  

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BRPC Committee Mulls Input on State Housing Plan

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee brainstormed representation for the county in upcoming housing listening sessions.

"The administration is coming up with what they like to tout is their first housing plan that's been done for Massachusetts, and this is one of a number of various initiatives that they've done over the last several months," Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said.

"But it seems like they are intent upon doing something and taking comments from the different regions across the state and then turning that into policy so here is our chance to really speak up on that."

The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and members of the Housing Advisory Council will host multiple listening sessions around the Commonwealth to hear input on the Healey-Driscoll administration's five-year strategic statewide housing plan.

One will be held at Berkshire Community College on May 15 at 2 p.m.

One of Matuszko's biggest concerns is the overall age of the housing stock in Berkshire County.

"And that the various rehab programs that are out there are inadequate and they are too cumbersome to manipulate through," he explained.

"And so I think that there needs to be a greater emphasis not on new housing development only but housing retention and how we can do that in a meaningful way. It's going to be pretty important."

Non-commission member Andrew Groff, Williamstown's community developer director, added that the bureaucracies need to coordinate themselves and "stop creating well-intended policies like the new energy code that actually work against all of this other stuff."

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