IMAGE COURTESY OF GENSLER ARCHITECTURE
A rendering of the new GE building and location in Boston.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — If General Electric Co. is looking to partner with the region’s schools to further innovation, they need not look farther than North Shore Community College (NSCC).
As GE broke ground on Monday for it new corporate headquarters in Boston’s Seaport District, the $130 billion company is strengthening its Massachusetts ties.
“When GE creates products, we are here as a community college to be of service by creating a skilled workforce and to upskill their existing workforce,” said Dianne Palter Gill, the school’s dean of corporate and professional education. “We and our sister community colleges can provide them with skilled workers and they can help us with curriculum and scholarships.”
Over the next decade, nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled. The skills gap is expected to result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled, according to The Manufacturing Institute. There are two major contributing factors to the widening gap: baby boomer retirements and economic expansion.
GE’s new global headquarters in Boston is scheduled to open next year and will be the home for 800 employees.
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As part of the project, the company will restore two historic brick buildings and build a 12-story building on a 2.4-acre campus.
Gill said GE has said they want to partner with local schools including universities, technical schools and community colleges.
Among the many programs NSCC offers include the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Certificate Program which provides an introduction to the manufacturing industry and prepares students for entry-level employment. In addition, electives allow students to focus on technical courses that align with individual educational and career goals in manufacturing, according to the school’s program description.
“We offer a machining program and it would be great to have more connections around that and a partnership with GE would be great,” said Gill.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].