Downtown gets Boost!
Rebecca Brien
Ten small North Street businesses in Pittsfield will be eligible for consulting services and grants — a new program designed to help bolster the city’s downtown. Page 2
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Berkshire Business Journal APRIL 2024 I VOL. 3, NO. 4
Training the workforce
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN
BCC alumnus Denise Foss is the lead preschool teacher at Southern Berkshire Childcare Program in Sheffield. She says her time at BCC made her more confident “socially and within myself.” BCC teachers, Foss says, “were as invested in my education as I was.”
BCC prepares students to step into occupations, grow careers By Jim T herrion PITTSFIELD — The courses and expertise offered at Berkshire Community College form the core of the region’s network of workforce preparation initiatives. “I appreciate the college even more than I did before,” said former Pittsfield Mayor Linda (Tyer) Clairmont, who began in February as the school’s executive director of workforce development and community education. Clairmont left office in January after serving two four-year terms as the city’s chief executive. In that role, she worked with the college and the other institutions and organizations striving to enhance economic
opportunities for students and adult learners. ‘A GEM’ “The college has so much to offer students,” Clairmont said, “no matter their background, no matter their age, no matter their intent.” That’s the case for those in high school or recent grads, she said, as well as for people in mid-career and seeking a fresh start, or trying something they’ve thought about but never had the opportunity to pursue. “It is just a gem for the Berkshires to have,” she said. BCC offers multiple economic advantages to the community, and also to local employers, Clairmont said.
“The college is accessible, and we can offer all kinds of programs to students,” she said. “Really, the goal is to provide people opportunities for social mobility, financial independence, and give employers a well-trained workforce around the Berkshires.” OPTIONS With both a workforce training component and traditional academic courses, BCC can prepare students to enter the workforce immediately or work toward a two- or four-year degree — often simultaneously. BCC’s workforce programs, said Clairmont and others in the field, have grown in importance and variety — and BCC PREP, Page 12
FILE PHOTOS
BCC President Ellen Kennedy (left), says the college “has a commitment to a robust and knowledge-based workforce in Berkshire County. Former Pittsfield Mayor Linda (Tyer) Clairmont (right), now BCC’s executive director of workforce development and community education, says the college’s workforce program can be “nimble” and “responsible to what employers need.”