Boston Council Hearing on $12.9M Bloomberg Skilled Trades Grant – Aug. 25, 2026
Boston City Council Labor & Economic Development Committee Hearing on Docket #1391 – August 25, 2026
The committee, chaired by Councilor Worrell, held a hearing to consider accepting and expending a $12,855,000 Bloomberg Philanthropies grant for the Boston Skilled Trades Initiative. The grant, administered by the Office of Workforce Development in collaboration with Boston Public Schools and Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, aims to expand vocational training, pre-apprenticeships, and registered apprenticeships in construction, water utility management, and other skilled trades. The hearing lasted from 2:02 PM to approximately 3:40 PM and included testimony from administration officials, five public speakers, and questions from five councilors.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sashia Green Williams (Action for Equity, lifelong Boston resident, BPS parent and graduate) expressed support for the investment but urged the city to also invest in upskilling working adults, arguing that youth and adult workforce development are not competing priorities. She called for measuring success by wage increases, promotions, and permanent quality jobs, not just program entry.
- Bridget Gray (CEO, The Possible Zone) testified in strong support. She cited data showing median net wealth of $947,000 for Massachusetts families with graduate degrees versus $1,100 for those without a high school diploma, and noted 88% of young people want non-degree paths. She highlighted her organization’s success in raising BPS on-time graduation rates by 15 percentage points and college matriculation by 16 percentage points, and urged support for scaling the model.
- Dr. Jay Simpson (Executive Director, Young Men with a Plan) thanked the committee and expressed full support, stating the initiative is a direct answer to what young people are asking for post-COVID. He offered to bring a panel of students to share their interest in trades.<br>
- Brian Hodge Mulina (Quality Homes Humankind) voiced support but raised two concerns: that the after-hours component should be deliverable at partner high schools beyond Madison Park, and requested the Office of Workforce Development report back within six months on participation data by neighborhood to ensure equitable reach.<br>
- Michael Gillen (Kind, youth-led initiative) supported the grant but expressed concern that the after-hours program at Madison Park would limit access for students from distant neighborhoods like East Boston and Hyde Park due to transportation and family responsibilities. He urged that after-hours training be offered at partner schools.<br>
Discussion Items
- Presentation by Chief Trin Wynne (Office of Workforce Development) outlined the grant: Boston was one of nine cities selected for Bloomberg’s $90 million national skilled trades initiative. The Boston Skilled Trades Initiative expands on Mayor Wu’s 2025 project labor agreement and serves 1,100 Madison Park students across 22 career technical programs. Four strategies: (1) build the pipeline at Madison Park (50–100 registered apprenticeship seats per year); (2) expand the pipeline to new trades (e.g., water utility management); (3) expand access via an after-hours program for BPS seniors from five partner high schools (Ruth Batson, Tech Boston, Boston International, Fenway, Boston Collaborative); (4) recruit 400–500 eighth graders citywide.<br>- Year zero results: 28 of 68 eligible seniors applied for a boot camp; 19 were selected by Building Pathways; 14 completed the program; 6 went directly into registered apprenticeships.<br>- Selection criteria: For the year zero cohort, Madison Park recommended students based on attendance, academic standing, and graduation track; students needed a driver’s license and passed a drug test. Building Pathways (a pre-apprenticeship program) conducted interviews and made final selections. Chair Worrell and Councilor Cole Pepper pressed for details on the selection process, including the number of students recommended (initially 35–36, then 28, then 19) and the criteria used by Building Pathways.<br>- Transportation and access: Assistant Superintendent Brett confirmed that for the after-hours program (Vocation by Madison), each partner high school will have a liaison to address barriers, and students will receive stipends and a meal. Transportation will be coordinated, but no rideshare specifically mentioned. The program is limited to BPS seniors in year one due to legal and permission form constraints.<br>- Trades covered: The grant focuses on registered apprenticeships in building trades (carpentry, electricity, HVAC, plumbing, metal fabrication, facilities management, and the newly approved construction craft labor). HVAC is included; culinary arts and elevator repair were not approved by Bloomberg despite advocacy. The administration noted they are pursuing other funding for those fields.<br>- Driver’s education: Funding exists in the grant, but Madison Park is struggling to find a driving school partner to deliver on-site. Councilor Worrell asked about paying for driver’s ed to remove the barrier.<br>- Reporting and tracking: Chief Wynne stated that all workforce development initiatives require performance outcomes, and Bloomberg’s independent evaluator will track enrollment, completion, placement, retention, and progression to journey person status. Apprenticeship navigators will be hired to support students beyond Madison Park.<br>- Councilor Flynn emphasized the importance of vocational education, asked about learning from other model schools (e.g., Worcester Tech), and raised the need for elevator maintenance training. He expressed support for HVAC training and noted the growing demand.<br>- Councilor Cole Pepper questioned the distribution of students across the four objectives, clarifying that only Madison Park students are served under objectives one and two, while objective three serves seniors from five other high schools. He requested a copy of the grant proposal and offered to help with co-op placements, noting Northeastern University’s willingness to partner with Madison Park.<br>- Councilor Fitzgerald inquired about the $50–150,000 funding for the BEST culinary program (Local 26), which is supported through other sources.<br>- Councilor Murphy asked about the selection process, tracking, and whether after-hours training could be offered at other schools. She noted that all BPS high schools are open to students citywide.<br>
Key Outcomes
- The committee expressed strong support for accepting the grant. Chair Worrell confirmed a vote will be taken the next day (August 26, 2026), with Councilor Flynn predicting a 13‑0 vote.<br>- Commitments made: The Office of Workforce Development will report back to the committee on participation data by neighborhood and provide the grant proposal to councilors. The after-hours program will have facilitators at each partner school to coordinate transportation. Driver’s education funding will be used once a partner is secured. Apprenticeship navigators will track students’ progress into registered apprenticeships and beyond.<br>- No formal vote occurred during the hearing; the matter was referred to the full council for approval.
Meeting Transcript
City Council. I'm chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Labor and Economic Development. Today is August 25th, 2026. The exact time is two oh two PM. In accordance with Chapter Two of the Acts of Twenty Twenty-Five, modifying certain requirements of the open meeting law, and relieving public bodies and certain requirements, including the requirement that public bodies conduct its meetings in a public place that is open and physically accessible to the public.gov backslash city dash council TV and broadcast on Xfinity Channel Eight, RC and Channel 82, and FIOS Channel 964. Green Comments may be sent to the committee email at CCC.gov and will be made part of the record and available to all counselors. Public testimony will be taken at the end of this or at the beginning of this hearing. Individuals be called on in the order in which they signed up, will have two minutes to testify.gov with a Zoom link, and they will be added to the list. Today's hearing is on Docket Number One Three Nine One. Message in order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of twelve million eight hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars in the form of a grant from Bluebird Philanthropies Grant awarded by Blue Bird Philanthropy's to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant would fund the Skilled Trades Initiative, which aims to enhance vocational training, expand pre-apprenties opportunities, and support students' participation and registered apprenticeship programs. This will be administered in collaboration with Boston Public Schools. This matter was sponsored by Mayor Michelle Wu, referred to the committee on July 22nd, 2026. Today I'm joined by my council colleagues in order arrival, um, Councillor Murphy. And I would like to now turn it over to today's panelists testifying on behalf of the administration, uh Chief of Worker Empowerment Chief Wynn. Oh, and I think we have Chief Sugarman Brosen and Assistant Superintendent Demarbrook Dickens, and then a school leader of Madison Park, uh uh Leader Neil. The floor is now yours. Great, thank you. Can everyone hear me? Yes. Okay, great. Um thanks, uh Councilor Roel, uh, Councilor Murphy, and um I think I took down some notes. Counselor um Flynn Um for attending this important meeting. Um we have also a PowerPoint um to kind of quickly go over while we're presenting. Thank you for bringing that up. Thank you, everyone. Um my name is Trin Wynne. I am the Chief of Worker Empowerment and Office of Workforce Development Um Executive Director. We are the fiscal agent of the Bloomberg Philanthropy Um Grant and the initiative called the Boston Skilled Trades Initiative. Um, and uh we're here with our partners, uh, Boston Public Schools, Madison Park, and um our in the mayor's office in terms of collaboration, uh, bringing uh all the pieces together for this skilled trade trades initiative. Um next slide. So um this initiative um was piloted, thought thought through in co-design by the city of Boston, the Boston Public Schools. Um we have been selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies uh for a new $90 million national skilled trades initiative to change how high school students prepare for and enter registered apprenticeships and high-wage family sustaining skills in these skilled trades. And so um there are about nine partners that were selected. Um there it was a um very competitive national application process, and so Boston is one of several cities that received um the skilled trades. We're also one of the um highest awarding uh awardees uh for the Bloomberg uh philanthropies in this initiative as well. Detroit, Michigan with Ford, um Chattanooga, Tennessee, Fairbanks, Arkansas, Houston, Texas, New Jersey. It's a statewide uh uh apprenticeship uh initiative, Raleigh, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, St. Louis, uh, Missouri, and Washington, DC, um, with local governments and um nonprofits and the school districts as well. Next slide. And so our um Boston Skilled Trades Initiative expands on the historic project labor agreement signed by um Mayor Wu in 2025 with the Greater Boston Building Trades and the North Atlantic uh States Regional Council of Carpentries. And so um there are additional details for this um PLA. Next slide. And so um I will defer to uh Paul the the uh principal and executive director of uh Madison Park and also uh Brett, who is the superintendent, assistant super deputy uh superintendent for um career technical and um uh employer engagement workforce development programs for the Boston Public Schools to discuss this um overview of Madison Park as well. But um for this Bloomberg uh grant and initiative, um it serves more than um 1100 students in grades nine to twelve. Madison Park is a BPS only comprehensive CTE school. And we have 22 different career technical programs, including aligned, including those that are aligned with the building traits, carpentry, electricity, HVAC, metal fabrication, plumbing and facilities management, to name a few. We also have a cooperative education experiences for seniors and some juniors who meet attendance and academic requirements. And this part of this for the career technical education has a dual enrollment and early college opportunities at our community colleges, Bunker Hill Community College, beginning in 10th grade. Next slide.
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