HCC hosts workforce conference
Workforce professionals from all over the Northeast will be on the Holyoke Community College campus on March 17 for the 12th New England Workforce Network Conference.
The network is a collaborative of regional workforce professionals. The theme of this year’s conference is “Reimagining the Workforce,” which reflects the turbulent times of adjusting to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with sessions both in-person at the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development and virtually over Zoom.
“Since 2001, the New England Workforce Network has offered a conference every 18 months for workforce professionals from colleges, businesses, and community-based organizations across New England,” said Mary Breeding, consultant to the network’s planning group. “Most of our participants come from New England states, but we also get people from New York and Pennsylvania. We had to switch to a fully virtual conference in 2021 due to COVID and had 175 participants. We are very excited to be able to offer both a live and virtual option for our 12th conference this year.”
The conference keynote speaker is Jack Warner, senior advisor for the Education Strategy Group. Conference introductions will be offered by Dianne Palter Gill, dean of corporate and professional education at North Shore Community College HCC president Christina Royal and Jeffrey Hayden, Holyoke’s vice president of business and community services.
The conference cost is $89 if registered by Feb. 17 and $109 thereafter. For more details and to register, please go online to hcc.edu/newn.
UMass Amherst online ranks high
The online undergraduate program in business offered by the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management has been ranked third best in the country, according to an evaluation released by U.S. News & World Report. Overall, all UMass online bachelor’s degree programs placed 16th nationally, up from 19th in 2022.
For 2023 U.S. News assessed online programs at more than 1,800 colleges and universities and ranked 1,730 online bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, the most in the survey’s history.
UMass Amherst was the only New England institution to place in the top 30 for online bachelor’s degrees.
The Isenberg School of Management’s programs ranked ninth in the survey among non-MBA online business graduate degrees, which in Isenberg’s case includes its master’s programs in business analytics and in accounting. Isenberg’s MBA program placed 12th and its general management track within the MBA program ranked 14th. The highly ranked programs “have strong traditional academic foundations based on the excellence of entering students, graduation rates and instructor credentials,” U.S. News says. “They also excel at educating distance learners while providing robust career and financial support.”
UMass Amherst online programs also ranked in the top 10 for their support of veterans, with its bachelor’s (10th) as well as Isenberg’s master’s in business analytics and master’s in accounting programs (4th) and its online MBA (10th) leading the survey.
Also receiving recognition were the online graduate nursing program (46th) and the online graduate education program (89th), which rose more than 100 spots from 2022.
United Way offers training
United Way of Pioneer Valley is partnering with Inclusive Strategies to offer a free OnBoard training session for newly-elected nonprofit board members as well as potential nonprofit board members.
The purpose of the OnBoard training is to learn how to build and retain relationships for inclusive board opportunities while gaining a better awareness on how to align your experiences with a local mission.
The training will be held on March 2 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. with a social hour directly following the training. Registration is required to attend. Training topics include how to play an active role on a board, how to be an effective leader, how to enhance cross-cultural communication, and other meaningful topics. A panel of seasoned board members will be guests of the program to share their perspectives and experiences.
Jason Newmark, president of the United Way board, said, “Since incorporating the OnBoard program into the (United Way) family of programs, it has been our intent to provide relevant training for new board members in the region. We believe this is a significant way to support our fellow non-profit organizations. The content in this session is stellar, and we invite new and potential board members to take full advantage of the abundant, shared knowledge that will be in the room.”
Space in the program is limited. Early registration is advised by contacting Jennifer Kinsman at 413-693-0212 or email to jkinsman@uwpv.org.
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