Boston Council panel reviews $860,000 career center grant for unemployed job seekers

BOSTON — January 14, 2025 — Boston City Council committee hears testimony on $860,169 career center grant for unemployed residents. The Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development, chaired by District 6 Councilor Benjamin J. Weber, held a virtual hearing Tuesday on docket number 0116, authorizing the city to accept and expend an $860,169.70 Mass Hire Department of Career Services grant to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The funds support two career centers — Mass Hire Downtown Boston at 75 Federal Street, managed by Jewish Vocational Services, and a new Roxbury location managed by Action for Boston Community Development — which together placed 13,675 of more than 15,000 job seekers into jobs in fiscal year 2024. Fiscal year 2025 goals call for serving 14,000 job seekers and placing 12,470, including 265 veterans and 950 individuals with disabilities. The grant dockets are appearing before the council for the first time because the Office of Workforce Development replaced EDIC as fiscal agent for the Mass Hire Workforce Board — a role EDIC had held since 1989. No vote was taken; the docket remains pending full council action.