UMass Boston Welcomes White House Business Council

How can the government best support the employment and training needs of high-tech and life science start-ups? 

That was the question on the table when U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Jane Oates met with 20 high-tech and life science executives from the greater Boston area at UMass Boston's Venture Development Center on July 28.

The discussion was part of the White House Business Council's Winning the Future roundtable event series, an effort to better communicate with America's businesses to learn about help that's available across the federal government. Oates was joined by Joanne Goldstein, state secretary of Labor and Workforce Development.

Oates emphasized the importance of the science and bio-tech fields in this area.

"[Massachusetts) needs to capitalize on education and innovation, because that's our natural resource," she said.

Read more about the roundtable on the Entrepreneurship Workforce Development blog.

Executives spoke of a shortage of mid-level employees that are trained and qualified to work in high-tech start-ups here in Massachusetts. They suggested ways government officials can best support the employment and training needs of high-tech and life science start-ups. They also learned more about the government's resources and programs.

Read about the high-tech labor shortage and the White House Business Council roundtable in the Boston Globe.

UMass Boston hopes to continue this dialogue between federal and state officials and local business leaders on a more formal basis.

"For more than two years, the Venture Development Center has been working with innovative companies to understand their workforce needs," Chancellor J. Keith Motley said. "Using this information, we have been able to equip students with the skills necessary to thrive in today's global economy and help create a workforce that meets the growing demands of employers."

"We look forward to an engaging conversation with our federal and state partners and executives from companies supported by the Venture Development Center," he said.

This is the second time in the past year that the VDC has hosted a roundtable between government and business. The VDC played host to Governor Deval Patrick in April, when he met with the several companies headquartered in the facility.

Opened in May 2009, the Venture Development Center incubates promising, early stage technology and life science companies in an 18,000-square-foot award winning facility. It has quickly become the cutting-edge center for emerging businesses in Boston.