Marblehead and Swampscott’s school districts will receive a cumulative $200,000 from Gov. Maura Healey’s administration to advance work-based learning through the Innovation Career Pathways program.
The administration announced Tuesday that it allocated nearly $4.4 million in grants to 68 school districts to develop Innovation Career Pathways, a state program that encourages students to learn skills in high demand to prepare them for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Swampscott Public Schools received $125,000 for its Innovation Career Pathways program and Marblehead Public Schools was awarded $75,000.
“Over 40% of jobs here in Massachusetts come from STEM industries, and by investing in Innovation Career Pathways, we are not only creating opportunities for students to explore meaningful career paths, we are also creating a workforce pipeline that matches the needs of our employers,” Healey said in a written statement.
This year, the Healey administration added clean energy to the list of applicable Innovation Career Pathways fields alongside advanced manufacturing, information technology, environmental and life sciences, health care and social assistance, and business and finance.
Using data from the national business group E2, the administration reported that the clean-energy industry has grown by 73% since 2010. As of 2022, it added, Massachusetts has the seventh largest amount of clean-energy jobs in the nation.
“In expanding the types of pathway programs offered by adding a new clean-energy pathway, we are meeting not only this moment, but future moments for our workforce and our planet, cultivating the next generation that will join us in tackling the climate crisis,” Healey said.
Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, a former superintendent of Lynn Public Schools, noted that the grants were awarded during STEM Week, which contains events focused on inspiring students to consider careers in STEM fields.
“By the end of STEM Week, we want students across the Commonwealth to know about programs like Innovation Career Pathways that provide opportunities for students to gain experience in booming STEM fields,” Tutwiler said in the statement.
