2012 AUGUST-MASHPEE EDIC Plan for Executive Park

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The majority of Mashpee residents seeking new jobs either have specialized construction trade skills or work experience in fairly low-skill positions. Mashpee has a job seeking labor force with primarily low skills and limited opportunities of finding high-paying employment opportunities. Less than 5 percent of job seekers have technical skills. Concerns about unemployment are not shared equally by all residents of Mashpee. For certain segments of the labor force, the inability to find a job is quite severe. The 1990 Census data shows that the young and the old have the most difficulty finding jobs. Unemployment for those between the ages of 16 and 24 hovers around 10 percent. More than 22 percent of men ages 16 to 19 are unemployed and almost 17 percent of men ages 20 to 24 are unemployed. These figures only count those that are actively looking for jobs and not those that have dropped out of the labor force. Area companies are aided in their search for technical workers by their access to the large, highly technical labor pool in the greater Boston region. While this somewhat compensates for the lack of skilled technical workers on the Cape, it does not allow local residents to benefitfrom the technical jobs. The labor force of Mashpee is not only diverse in terms of race, income, and skill levels, but diverse in ` terms of their aspirations and needs. While many of the unemployed and under-employed residents of Mashpee are looking for full-time, year-round jobs that provide livable wages and benefits, others are looking for less traditional means of making a living. Some prefer a lifestyle that includes seasonal and part-time work with more informal ways of meeting their families' needs, including small-scale agriculture and fishing. Some are interested in supplementing their incomes through self-employment. Education and Training The need to make education and training a priority in Mashpee becomes obvious when one considers the findings about the current labor force. The findings of this section outline what resources are currently available in the region to meet area education and training requirements. The resources are viewed in the context of economic development with specific attention to the following issues: 1) how are the resources used by the business community; 2) how do the resources prepare workers for existing and future jobs; and 3)how responsive are the institutions to the changing economic needs of industry. The new high school provides the Town with significant opportunities for developing an innovative educational system and a focal point for a sense of community. Building relationships and programs with the business community, however, will take time, as will developing ties between the school and local and regional industries. A clear early focus of educators and community members will be the school-to-work initiative. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 established broad guidelines and core components for a state-coordinated system of local partnerships charged with implementing the initiative. Once established, the program can serve as a critical link between economic development and secondary education The primary source of vocational education for Mashpee students is at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich rather than the closer Upper Cape Tech in Bourne. While serving the needs of Mashpee students, the distance is not optimal in terms of the residents and businesses of Mashpee. Cape Cod Tech appears to offer a strong vocational preparatory curriculum, and is eager to continue its role as host of Mashpee students. However, the location of the high school is not ideal for Mashpee particularly when one considers that Upper Cape Technical High School is located in Bourne. The distance may prevent some students from pursuing vocational education; it may discourage local businesses, those most likely to employ Mashpee residents upon graduation, from participating in curriculum changes and equipment needs,or in school-to-work transition programs. 8