By: Stratton Lloyd

Conventional wisdom on manufacturing tells us that it is a declining industry with few pathways to lifelong, lucrative careers for young people making decisions about their futures. It’s time to seriously question that way of thinking.

Yes. The data tells us that manufacturing jobs have been on rapid decline since the 1980s. But according to the Department of Unemployment Assistance/Bureau of Labor Statistics, that decline is starting to slow and, in fact, in northeast Massachusetts, manufacturing jobs grew by 1% from 2016 to 2018. It also continues to be the second-largest industry employer in the northeast region (in Essex County alone, 41,361 people work in manufacturing) and paid the highest total wages in 2018: $1.4 billion.

By: Grant Welker

UMass Medical School and GE Healthcare Life Sciences will open a new facility next year to manufacture material used in preclinical research.

The Worcester school and Marlborough firm announced the partnership Monday, saying the facility will help cut down on a backlog due to a lack of facilities able to manufacture large scale viral vectors, which deliver genetic material into cells in gene therapy. That wait can extend to 12 to 24 months for researchers to secure enough vector for their research, they said.

ANDOVER — Today, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy joined John Lavoie, Superintendent-Director of the Greater Lawrence Technical School, regional workforce leaders and state and local officials to announce $2.5 million to four regional consortiums. This funding is being awarded through the Advanced Manufacturing Training Program to address the skills gap by creating a fully coordinated manufacturing training system to connect residents to full-time employment and meet the needs of regional industry.