Discover our mission, values, and leadership.
Explore benefits that power your success.
Browse our network of businesses.
Explore opportunities to connect and grow.
Don’t miss our upcoming Government Affairs Forum with Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg.
12/09/2025
9:45am - 11:00am
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Take advantage of exclusive perks and programs for members.
Browse our directory to find and connect with member community.
Join experiences that build relationships and spark ideas.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
Level up your leadership and communication in this Boston Chamber workshop for professionals—gain essential skills in team alignment.
The Chamber Foundation invites the business community to engage with Boston Public Schools leaders and their students to help build the future workforce.
Learn how we advance talent and small business growth.
Explore our key priorities and strategic efforts.
Join us at our next Foundation event.
June 11, 2021
The Massachusetts Business Coalition on Skills (MBCS) and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) Affiliate Network, submitted testimony to the Joint Committee on Education in support of H.691/S.351, An Act expanding high school student access to earn industry recognized credentials. MBAE brought this bill to the legislature and worked with Representative Jeffrey N. Roy and Senator Eric P. Lesser, co-chairs of the Advanced Manufacturing Caucus and champions for equitable skills development, to file it. The MBCS – a coalition of 27 diverse business organizations from across the state that advocates for equitable skills development policies – and the MBAE Affiliate Network – comprised of 37 chambers of commerce and industry associations from across Massachusetts – support these bills because they expand opportunities for high school students to earn industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) that are tied to labor market demand and high-wage jobs.
Employers across the Commonwealth struggle to fill open positions with employees that possess the skillsets required for employers to run or expand their businesses successfully. Meanwhile, far more students want access to career-connected study than our current high school system allows. Integrating education and career, by making IRCs more accessible to high school students, will help build career-aligned high school pathways to good jobs or higher education and close this skills gap by ensuring that the education our students receive aligns with the skills needed to be successful in the workforce.
Labor market alignment is key to the value of IRCs and closing skills gaps, but right now, Massachusetts has low alignment between the credentials earned by high school students and the credentials in demand among employers.[1] This is troublesome because the state’s employers report that one of the clearest indicators of the whether a high school graduate is hirable is if they possess an in-demand IRC.[2]
H.691 and S.351 offer a dynamic solution to closing the skills gap by annually prioritizing IRCs with high employment value that are recognized by higher education institutions and respond to changing regional labor market demands. In turn, the prioritized IRCs can guide students toward high-wage and in-demand careers while also assisting employers in their efforts to identify job candidates that possess the skills needed to succeed.
Investing in and fostering the talent of our future workforce will keep Massachusetts a global competitor and create new opportunities for residents and businesses alike. Data-driven efforts to expand access to IRCs, like the one outlined in H.691/S.351, will work to close the skills gap, address labor market demands, and provide students with career pathways toward high-wage and in-demand jobs.
READ THE TESTIMONY.
[1] ExcelinEd and Burning Glass Technologies. September 2020. Credentials Matter Phase 2: A 2020 Update on Credential Attainment and Workforce Demand in America.
[2] Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. May 2019. Ready for Work: Leveraging the Madison Park Talent Pipeline.
James Sutherland, PhD
Director of Policy & Research
[email protected]617-557-7312
Popular Resources