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College President Ellen Kennedy points to BCC's superintendent partners in Pittsfield's Latifah Phillips, Hoosac Valley's Aaron Dean and McCann Technical's James Brosnan at the announcement of the BCC Trades Academy on Thursday.
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Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont thanks the Congressman Richard Neal for his efforts.
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The congressman sits with Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti and state Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouver, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis.
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BCC Sees $1M in Federal Funds for Trades Academy

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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U.S. Rep. Richard Neal secured $995,000 to begin design and construction of the academy. The congressman had earlier attended the Norman Rockwell Museum business breakfast, which celebrated Laurie Norton Moffatt's 49 years leading the institution.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College was awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to support a Trades Academy. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited the college to highlight the $995,000 he secured through congressionally directed spending. Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont said BCC can be a destination for adults who want to learn a skilled trade. 

"I want to join up with the amazing work that Taconic and McCann (vocational high schools) are doing to prepare people for these really specific skills, helping people become confident professionals with a direct path to high-wage, high-demand jobs," she explained. 

"And we're also addressing the labor shortage that exists in this county, around the state, and around the country, in the skilled trades." 

The federal funding will support a feasibility study of an existing vacant building on campus, as well as the evaluation and abatement of any hazardous materials at the location, because it was once a power plant. 

BCC will dip its toe into the skilled trades with its first HVAC training program, for which it received $1.2 million from the state in support. The $995,000 in federal funds will go toward creating the academy in a building located on the main campus, and the HVAC heat pump training program will be funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. 

The $1 million in federal monies will get the college to construction documents, maybe fund some construction, and help identify the necessary equipment and other learning space needs for a skilled trade, Clairmont reported. 

The funding is part of more than $14 million in congressionally directed spending secured by the congressman to support economic development, workforce training, and community infrastructure across the Berkshires.

Neal said there are about 6.5 million jobs in the United States that go unanswered every day.

"We're also having this kind of interesting conversation in America right now about the role of a college education, and when you look at a career in a lifetime, college education tends to pay more," he said. 

"So what you're doing is you're marrying two realities here, the college education coupled with the need in terms of the trade skill set and opportunity."

He feels the BCC Trades Academy is a "terrific" idea.

"You've seen these pretty interesting shifts in America's political dialogue. You've all experienced it in a country that's really divided right now, but we shouldn't understake the role that outward pressure on wages, opportunity, and skill set is creating," Neal said. 

"So there's a great story to tell." 

Mayor Peter Marchetti frequently hears from residents about how difficult it is to hire a qualified licensed contractor, electrician, or plumber.  


"As people in this part of the workforce retire, there is nobody waiting on the bench to fill these spaces. This shortage directly impacts housing affordability, neighborhood revitalization, and overall economic growth," he said. 

"These delays not only have an impact on our residents, but also have a residual effect on the construction of new housing and other city infrastructure projects." 

He said his team has been working with enterprise advisers over the past year to examine the current roadblocks within the skilled workforce labor sector and how to work toward practical solutions. They spoke to stakeholders in education, workforce development, construction, housing, youth organizations, and more. 

The first phase of work was recently completed, and the city is now further reviewing the recommendations designed to strengthen the local pipeline, support small contractors, and expand access to career pathways.

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction as we are adding another tool to the toolbox," Marchetti said. 

"... Berkshire Community College understands the importance of building upon existing programming that we have in place. Today marks an important step in expanding our ability to connect residents from Pittsfield and across Berkshire County to careers that are in high demand through strategic partnerships and training. BCC Trades Academy is an example of what we can accomplish when we collaborate with one another." 

College President Ellen Kennedy said one of Clairmont's goals in coming to BCC was to address the trades' needs, coming in with a vision, and working "very, very" hard to implement it. 

Clairmont, former mayor of Pittsfield, looked at Marchetti and members of the Berkshire Delegation and said it was nice to be back among old friends, adding, "This is probably the greatest moment for us to reconnect." 

She thanked Neal for believing in BCC and the Berkshire County, and said the Workforce and Community Education team is "dedicated, hard-working, ambitious women who are changing the landscape of workforce training and bringing even more people to Berkshire Community College for a whole variety of training programs." 

"There's a lot of momentum around the skilled trades," she said. 

The college's board of trustees recently voted to appoint a new leader as Ellen Kennedy prepares to retire. Last month, they unanimously recommended Hara Charlier as the next president of BCC to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education on Tuesday formally approved her appointment, and she will officially assume the role on July 1, 2026.
 
"She is all in on workforce development and career vocational technical programs.  If you Google her, you will see her campus, and you will see how many programs she already offers," Kennedy reported. 

"So this is perfect timing to come in and move this project along quite quickly with the wonderful team we have here at Berkshire Community College." 


Tags: BCC,   federal funds,   HVAC,   Neal,   vocational program,   

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Companion Corner: Glo at the Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and playful dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for her new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

"Glo is about a one-year-old, sweet female pitty mix who has nothing but love to give," said kennel supervisor Stacey Broderick.

Glo has been at the shelter for about three weeks after unfortunately being kicked out of her previous home.

"She came here because her previous home, she was being crated an awful lot, and unfortunately, was creating a little bit of a raucous when she was left by herself," said Broderick. "So she was just being a little barky, a little loud. Neighbors obviously shared walls in an apartment setting we're complaining to the landlord, and the landlord said, unfortunately, that she had to go."

But since coming to the shelter she has been learning a lot.

"She's been nothing but a sweet little girl ever since she is working on crate training, she has been very good for us. We're practicing it with her. She is also working on her house training. In addition to it, it seems that we had a little bit of a reverse situation going on, where she likes to go potties inside, but we are working very hard, and she is learning so quickly," she said. "So even after just a couple weeks with us, she's been really getting the point to go outside and do all of her potties out there."

She would do best in the home as the only dog and possibly without cats. She would also do best with older children who can understand her needs as she needs less activity than other dogs.

"The perfect home would, because of the necessity for her to have a lower activity level, probably without other dogs, just because she can get a little bit rambunctious when she gets excited around them," Broderick said. "So she could certainly have doggie play dates, but her perfect home would be no dogs. Unfortunately, we do have a bit of a prey drive with kitty cats, so probably leaning away from the cats, unless they're incredibly dog savvy ...

"Probably looking toward a home without super young kids, just so they're not jumping, you know, or leaning, or anything along those lines, and understanding that sometimes she's going to just need a break."

Because of a medical condition she wouldn't be able to go on long hikes or do anything extraneous but she is still very active and playful.

"She is absolutely lovely. She's sweet, she's young, she's playful. She wants to be with her people all the time. She loves toys. She does like going out for walks. We do have a couple of medical things that we can certainly give more information to adopters, too," she said. "We have some hip dysplasia that we're looking at, so probably moderate activity level would be best for her.

"She shouldn't necessarily be going on super long hikes, even though she would love to, but she is young and full of life and full of energy, and wants nothing more than to be with her people."

Since Glo has hip dysplasia she will need to maintain a healthy weight to not add stress to her joints and can also benefit from hydrotherapy.

"It's something that somebody will have to have a good relationship with a veterinarian physical therapists, and then if they were interested in doing a hydrotherapy type situation, it can only help her," Broderick said. "We want to keep those muscles built up in the hind end so that her hips are not taking the brunt of the bone on bone action while she is kind of living out her very best life."

Glo hasn't shown any symptoms or difficulties since being at the shelter, but it is a condition that her owners need to understand and it increases her chances of arthritis as she gets older.

Broderick said Fritters Critters in Lee specializes in pet hydrotherapy.

"They basically work on an underwater treadmill. So that's walking under the water so that she has a little bit of resistance and the water is warm, so that it's optimum for therapeutic benefits," she said. "They do have a pool there, too, where she would be able to do some swimming, and it really gives her the ability to exercise and really extend those joints and build up those muscles without the added pressure of gravity and impact as she's walking or playing or running.

"So the hydrotherapy is a great option for dogs, even if you just want to do it for fun. She could really benefit healthwise, from it, too."

She will also have to stay on her joint mobility food to help her.

But Glo is a very happy and playful dog and loves everyone she sees and is hoping to find someone who will love her just as much to take her home.

"I can't say enough good about her. I know that the hip dysplasia sounds like a scary piece of it, as well as the house training," Broderick said. "But honestly, there was not a friendlier, sweeter, more outgoing, social, wants to be best friends with you, kind of dog. She was in the front lobby this past Saturday, and she met like 10 people at the same time, and just made rounds and loved every single person as they came in."

You can visit Glo at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about her on the website.

The Berkshire Humane Society is open Tuesday through Sunday. The adoption center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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