Join us for the BIMA's thought leadership panel around AI in the advertising industry and gain insights from Noor Naseer.
09/26/2023
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Hill Holliday
Corean Reynold was recently appointed the Director of Nightlife Economy for the City of Boston, where she brings a wealth of experience and a passion for fostering an equitable and thriving nightlife ecosystem.
10/04/2023
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Roundhead Brewing Company
Don’t miss our upcoming Government Affairs Forum with Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. Register now!
10/11/2023
9:45am - 11:00am
Bank of America
Designed for mid-level managers and supervisors, this new certificate program addresses workplace well-being through unique, innovative, and actionable methods.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
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.
Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/12/2023 -
09/16/2023
Greater Boston
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For nearly 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
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.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
Authored by Chamber President, James Rooney and Mark Culliton, Founder & CEO of College Bound Dorchester for Commonwealth Magazine.
Looking at a city like Boston, it immediately becomes clear that there is a need to bring more economic opportunity to communities like Roxbury and Dorchester. For many young people born into these communities, reaching economic security requires a long swim against the tide of low educational attainment, pathways of crime and violence, and cycles of generational poverty. We know that sections of these neighborhoods are held back by violence and fear, and that this in turn impacts businesses throughout the city and our economy as a whole. But we can change that.
We need to employ a variety of tools, but if we target the most vulnerable young people in communities with intentional and comprehensive educational interventions that equip them to use their natural charisma and leadership abilities toward college and career success, they can become powerful forces for positive change that contribute to their communities instead of taking away from them. When young people transition from being a gang member or being incarcerated to college applicants and students they can also transition into positive neighborhood influencers who hold the key to sustainable economic success and a more robust workforce. But to make this happen we need to focus on and support them on their educational journey.
With an associate’s degree, students earn 40 percent more than with a high school credential, are 67 percent less likely to be unemployed, and 97 percent less likely to be criminally-involved. Furthermore, we know that getting one profoundly off-track young person from the corner to the college classroom saves the Commonwealth approximately $426,000.
Targeting off-track young people can also be beneficial to businesses. According to a report from the National Skills Coalition, middle-skill jobs represent about 46 percent of employment in Massachusetts, yet only about 37 percent of workers are classified as having these skills. Middle-skill jobs are defined as requiring more education than a high school credential, but less than a four-year degree such as paralegals, radiology technicians and civil engineering technicians. The demand for this type of position is expected to remain strong through 2020, with 43 percent of job openings classified as middle-skill. Unfortunately, as the demand grows, so will the divide between the number of open positions and candidates qualified to fill them.
Already, many businesses have open middle-skill positions that go unfilled. Not only are these unfilled positions a barrier for companies looking to grow and expand, they are also opportunities wasted. There is an untapped labor market in communities with high unemployment and low educational attainment, where, given the right support, there are thousands of young people searching for an open door. College Bound sees the youth we serve as the answer for companies struggling to find middle-skill candidates. Not only do these youth bring leadership abilities, but they have also encountered adversity and persevered to overcome it—a skill highly valuable in the job market.
We must shift how we think about the most off-track young people in our city and begin to see them for their potential instead of their past mistakes. We must be willing to invest in the education of those often called “least likely to succeed” and put in the work to reach those many consider unreachable. If we do these things, we can ensure that our young people succeed, our communities thrive, and our businesses grow.
Mark Culliton is the founder & CEO of College Bound Dorchester. James E. Rooney is the president & CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and a board member of College Bound Dorchester.
View this article on Commonwealth Magazine here.
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