Future of Work report keys on training, technology and support for changing workplace

The pandemic has forever changed the way people work in Massachusetts and responding in kind — to increased needs in child and elderly care, workforce training and gaps in technology — will be critical for state policymakers looking ahead, according to a future of work report being released Tuesday.

The  state-sponsored Future of Work Commission has “dramatically expanded” its scope beyond the traditional work issues it had initially set out to study, according to the report.

“The confluence of pandemic-related changes, social and racial justice movements, and the rapid evolution and integration of technology into the workplace requires significant changes to how the future worker is trained, employed, and supported by the Commonwealth and its employers,” the report states.

Commission’s members include state Sen. Eric Lesser, who’s running for lieutenant governor, Steve Tolman of the AFL-CIO, and representatives from large corporations like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and education leaders like the president of Elms College in Chicopee.

The report’s recommendations include expanding workforce development and training, better implementation of data into employment and hiring processes, and creation of a pipeline to refer job-seekers clean energy jobs.

The report also makes several recommendations for “work-adjacent issues,” including closing the “childcare gap” for working families, increasing pay for childcare workers, expanding the elder care industry, expanding mental health resources for workers, and making thoughtful changes to transportation, housing and “Main Streets” to better support remote work.

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