Building on a sustainable foundation Hall Tavern Farm adding wood processing center. 2
Berkshire Business Journal 75 S. Church St. Pittsfield, MA 01201
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COLUMN: Manufacturing is on the rise. Let’s run with it. 15
Berkshire Business Journal NOVEMBER 2022 | VOL. 1, NO. 6
NEW
technology skills approach
BIC’s Manufacturing Academy aims to keep Berkshire economy competitive
BY JOHN TOWNES
PITTSFIELD — One of the Berkshire Inno-
vation Center’s missions is to help local residents obtain the job skills that will allow them to succeed in the 21st century economy. A new initiative at the BIC that officially launched in September aims to do just that. It’s called the BIC Manufacturing Academy. One of the academy’s primary goals is to provide training and education to build a workforce skilled in new manufacturing technologies and provide job opportunities here. This includes a mix of one-day “boot camps” and apprenticeships. The academy’s overall mission is to help individual companies identify and implement specific technology products, systems, and equipment that they might utilize to improve their efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. They include software applications and equipment such as robotics, plasma cutters, and photonics devices used in design, process management, production and other operations of manufacturing businesses. “Our goal is to align the BIC Manufacturing Academy with other training dollars and programs over time, and establish partnerships with employers, so that it becomes a permanent resource,” said Ben Sosne, the BIC’s executive director. BIC, Page 10
ABOVE: BEN GARVER | TOP: FILE PHOTO
Above: Shaun O’Neil, left, technology fellow at the Berkshire Innovation Center, and operations manager Tim Butterworth, will be hosting the BIC’s new Manufacturing Academy. The pair are shown with an industrial laser cutter. Top: The Berkshire Innovation Center received almost $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish its new Manufacturing Academy.