$225,000 Cummings Foundation grant to Gould Construction Institute will create pathway to trade careers

June got off to a very good start for ABC Massachusetts when our Gould Construction Institute (GCI) was awarded a $225,000 grant over three years from the Cummings Foundation to create a “High School-to-Career Pathways in the Skilled Trades” pilot program, which will target 25-30 students per year in six Middlesex County high schools.

GCI, in partnership with Building Mass Careers (BMC) and Franklin Cummings Tech, seeks to address the accelerating construction labor shortage while creating a direct, sustainable pipeline from high school into high-demand skilled trade careers. This team continues to work tirelessly to provide pathways for those looking to get into the trades and enrich their futures.

The construction industry is facing an unprecedented workforce crisis. Nationally, the sector had to attract more than 439,000 new workers in 2025, with that number projected to reach nearly 499,000 in 2026, just to meet growing demand. At the same time, one in five construction workers is now 55 or older, and increased immigration enforcement pressures have further reduced the available labor pool.

The impacts that are being felt acutely across Massachusetts, where construction employment represents only 5.3 percent of the workforce, one of the lowest shares nationally, even as demand continues to grow, leading to project disruptions and higher costs.

In response, this initiative will establish a structured regional talent pipeline through formal partnerships with Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, and Lowell High Schools. Each year, the program will recruit and enroll five to six graduating seniors per school into one of two career pathways: GCI’s registered apprenticeship trade programs or Franklin Cummings Tech’s college-level Electrical and HVAC courses. All participants earn apprenticeship-eligible training credits, accelerating entry into paid employment.

The program will measure its success using indicators such as student recruitment levels, enrollment numbers, completion rates and post-program employment placements.

An investment in this initiative is an investment in economic stability, workforce readiness, safety and community prosperity. By building the next generation of skilled construction professionals, this program will strengthen Massachusetts’ ability to deliver housing, infrastructure, and clean energy projects for decades to come, and will open the doors of opportunity for our future industry leaders.

A huge thank you to the Cummings Foundation for the grant and the confidence it has expressed in GCI!

Luiza Mills is the chairman of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.-Mass. Chapter and is a senior vice president at Interstate Electrical Services Corp., North Billerica, Mass.