PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) will host the 2025 Berkshire State of Work Summit, "From Hiring to Thriving: A New Era of Workplace Culture," on Wednesday, June 18 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

 

The event, presented by BCC, MassHire, Berkshire Innovation Center, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and 1Berkshire, will take place at BCC’s main campus, located at 1350 West Street, Pittsfield. 

 

Tickets are $75 and may be purchased at www.berkshirecc.edu/worksummit. 

 

The one-day conference will focus on the workforce challenges and opportunities facing Berkshire employers, from attracting the right talent to ensuring their employees flourish in a supportive and dynamic work environment. With three tracks, 15 sessions and more than 40 speakers, the event is expected to draw at least 200 attendees. 

 

Keynote speaker JD Chesloff, president and CEO of Massachusetts Business Roundtable, will provide an overview of the local hiring climate and how employers around the Commonwealth are finding alternative solutions for recruiting, retention and employee work readiness. 

 

Summit Tracks

 

Recruiting and Retention: Finding it challenging to find qualified job candidates? In this track, discover overlooked sources of workers, how to maximize existing hiring resources and strategies for retaining new hires longer. 

 

Communication and Workplace Culture: Most people leave their jobs because they are unhappy with the workplace culture or a lack of opportunities. In this track, employees discuss what keeps them in their jobs longer. Learn how to minimize distractions from digital communications, make employee communications more effective and create a thriving workplace culture. 

 

Workplace Readiness Skills: While employers might be able to find candidates who have the right "hard skills," some won’t thrive in their role due to their lack of "soft skills" or "workplace readiness skills." In this track, learn how to incorporate those skills into your employee training, how to improve employee tech literacy and how to build self-sufficient teams. 

To view a full agenda, including speakers and facilitators, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/worksummit.