On Wednesday, Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts Joe Avellone released his plans for creating jobs and bolstering economic growth in the Commonwealth. A multifaceted outline, the jobs plan is intended to reinforce burgeoning industries, curtail unemployment, graduate more capable professionals from higher-ed institutions and entice new businesses to call the Bay State home.
Tapping into his experience as a surgeon and healthcare executive, Avellone will put to use the strategies he employed while at PAREXEL, a biopharmaceutical and medical device company, to put Massachusetts residents back to work and line their pockets with surplus dollars.
“This is the biggest issue facing the Commonwealth going forward — the need to create thousands of middle class jobs,” Avellone told BostInno over the phone. “I think we’re at a critical point where if we don’t start bringing new jobs to these older cities in particular, we’ll have a divide between the Greater Boston area and the rest of the state.”
To create a lucrative job market, Avellone understands that he first needs to educate those poised to enter it. He hopes to tailor education, both at the high school and collegiate levels, to better suit the needs of employers.
Citing 120,000 unfilled jobs in Massachusetts today, Avellone will look to incorporate a bevy of new practices into the educational system, including precision and smart manufacturing; life sciences, both pharmaceutical and biomedical devices; healthcare services and R&D; financial Services; telecommunications and information technology; and alternative energy.
These are all staples of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education which, Avellone notes, will be required by 35 percent of available jobs.
But while STEM education caters to the immediate needs of employers, it often strikes some as overcompensation subsequently allowing liberal arts and social sciences to fall by the wayside. Avellone contends, though, liberal arts education will carry on.
“Being an educated workforce means a broad-based workforce, not just job training,” he explained. “We have a smaller than average percentage of graduates with a science and technology background. It will bring us up to a level of competitiveness without removing other parts of the educational system.”
By adding more focus on these areas, he expects to foster a bountiful relationship between companies and recent graduates. In fact, the Wellesley native is hoping to solicit curriculum input from these types of businesses so that institutions know exactly what is immediately needed from prospective graduates.
This all hinders on the ability of colleges and universities to graduate able-bodied students and turn them into young professionals. Proliferated graduation rates by public institutions can be achieved by investing more heavily in them. By equipping them with the proper resources, more students will be allured to enrolling and costs will cease rising.
Citing PAREXEL and his experience at the helm of two startups, Avellone posited matter-of-factly, “My own company is a good example. We go where the workforce is around the world. We created our own program at Salem State here in Massachusetts. Students didn’t have enough of a skill set to oversee critical trials.”
To coax new business to the Bay State, and to cultivate budding ones, Avellone vows to promote the Massachusetts New Markets Tax Credit for low-income areas – a 39 percent issuance after a company’s investment has been made – as well as to streamline regulations and permitting, create entrepreneurial incubators over 15 statewide regions and provide economic advisors to small businesses and startups.
At the municipal level, Boston has similarly made efforts as of late to explicate licensing and permitting. The process, considered outdated in many respects, does more to hamper small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs. By ridding the system of a sea of red tape and antiquated stipulations, Mayor Marty Walsh hopes Boston will become more appealing to outsiders. Avellone’s thought process is along those same lines.
One of Avellone’s rival candidates has promised to create 5,000 new internships and 50,000 manufacturing jobs over a five-year span if elected to succeed Governor Deval Patrick on Beacon Hill. To Avellone, though, the old adage “talk is cheap” rings true. He’d rather earn votes based on the merit of his accomplishments and his vision for the future of our state than spew hyperbole to appease the masses.
“Setting the goal and target is easy rhetoric,” he said, “but having the plan and background, as I’ve done, is more important.”
