Senator Hassan Discusses Importance of Promoting Workforce Partnerships at Omni Components Corporation in Hudson

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, Senator Maggie Hassan last week visited Omni Components Corporation in Hudson where she highlighted the company’s workforce partnerships and discussed how her bipartisan Gateway to Careers Act would build and expand upon such partnerships to help innovative businesses hire the workforce that they need to thrive. Senator Hassan reintroduced the bipartisan Gateway to Careers Act last spring to help strengthen New Hampshire’s workforce and expand economic opportunity by supporting career pathways strategies – which combine work, education, and support services – to help individuals earn recognized postsecondary credentials.

See below for coverage highlights from the Nashua Telegraph, and read the full story here.

Hassan talks workforce partnerships

By Adam Urquhart

[…]On Friday, Hassan toured Omni Components Corp. in Hudson, as she met with employees and heard from company officials about their existing workforce partnerships, while also discussing the [Gateway to Careers] act. Omni is already partnering with Nashua Community College to help build a workforce.

“Really, we’re all going to continue to learn, so we have to have a system that makes it easy for somebody who’s working to go get that next credential without having to interrupt their income flow – and make it pretty easy,” Hassan said.

The bill aims to strengthen job training by supporting workforce programs at community and technical colleges, including accelerated learning options that allow students to earn credits and postsecondary-recognized credentials in a timely manner. It also removes barriers that prevent people from entering or remaining in the workforce by connecting them to services such as housing, childcare and assistance in obtaining health insurance coverage.

The bill aims to provide grants for workforce and educator collaborations to meet employers’ needs, while making sure that students get real skills in high-quality programs.

“I think what it will do is, we will get more students into the apprenticeship programs and seeing also that there’s a pathway not only through that way, but also that they can go on to higher education, and or go in the workforce or both,” NCC President Lucille Jordan said. “So, that’s where I think it will help, and I think it will help Omni a great deal.”

“There’s nice bipartisan recognition that these kind of workforce training partnerships really make a difference,” Hassan said. “Not only do they work for business, but as Lucille and I were just talking about, they make a difference in people’s lives.”

[…]“We formed two key partnerships with UMass Lowell (University of Massachusetts Lowell) and Nashua Community College, and then, two recent partnerships with the Greater Lowell Voc (Greater Lowell Technical High School) and MY TURN,” Omni President and CEO Frank Stone said.

[…]“I think anything the senator can do to retain our talent so it’s not an exit state for young individuals is very important,” Stone added of Hassan.

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