Massachusetts can hardly be complacent about its workforce deficit. In an increasingly global economy, all of the state s competitive advantages will be tested, including its leadership in research and development. Cities, regions, and countries that can provide an ample supply of highly skilled scientists, engineers and IT and other technical workers will intensify their competition with Massachusetts, matching their brain power with the Commonwealth s own. For years labor surplus was a central feature and problem of the state s economy. Adjusting to the new era of labor scarcity means we must rethink our assumptions about economic development and about what it will take to preserve a healthy business climate in the Commonwealth.
Many initiatives are in place, both public and private, to address pieces of the problem.
But Massachusetts needs to attack its workforce crisis on all fronts, and it needs to promote initiatives that will have a broad and lasting impact. Gaps in the current patchwork of services should be identified and filled. The workforce crisis in Massachusetts must be considered as a whole. Public sector and private sector leaders should analyze the facts, particularly as they relate to where and how the state can establish the pool of new professional and technical workers it needs to sustain its Innovation Economy. Several industry groups in the U.S. today are assessing their workforce needs by creating a roadmap.