Kira Khazatsky
JVS Boston President and CEO
Since being named CEO eight months ago, I have had the privilege to lead the organization that helped my family and me get on our feet in this country 40 years ago. In this moment of unprecedent workforce storages, refugee crisis, racial reckoning, and post pandemic trauma, the mission of JVS is more critical than ever.
While a labor of love, our work at JVS is so much more. This was underscored for me recently after reading the report: Addressing the Labor Shortage in Massachusetts: Engaging Untapped Talent, written by my predecessor Jerry Rubin and his co-author Ayanna Warrington. The authors make the case that Massachusetts is not suffering from a dearth of talent, but that the real issue lies in the state’s inability to fully engage its “untapped talent,” including workers of color, foreign-born individuals, justice-involved citizens, caregivers, disabled workers, and young and older workers. The report identifies workforce practices that can engage these groups, including offering support services and establishing strong employer partnerships.
At JVS, we have long understood the talent, resiliency and untapped potential of the untapped talent. For over 85 years JVS has excelled at developing strategies that ensure those with significant life challenges – the “untapped talent” – can enter and succeed in a competitive job market.
We continue to innovate as we respond to the changing needs of the workforce, and we are so excited to introduce ArLab, a cutting-edge healthcare and biotechnology job training institute. ArLab will formally open this November on Arlington Street, right in Back Bay, close to public transportation and area healthcare employers. In partnership with Quincy College, we created ArLab with the goal of streamlining the learning process for students enrolled in healthcare and biotech training. We know that these two sectors provide strong career pathways and are critical to the Massachusetts economy. JVS has the experience and tools to ensure that both job seekers and organizations get what they need to be competitive.
ArLab combines JVS Boston and Quincy College’s deep expertise in higher education and workforce training in a unique partnership that prepares workers for high-demand jobs and careers. Targeted training programs help students develop the necessary skills to fulfill the immediate need for highly skilled professionals in healthcare and biotechnology.
Outfitted with a biotechnology lab, sterile processing facility, pharmacy, and hospital patient rooms, ArLab offers an extensive simulated training experience. Each program at ArLab decreases the need for on-the-job training, and we work with industry-leading organizations to match students with open jobs.
Just after Labor Day, the first students began attending classes at ArLab. This new cohort of future Certified Nursing Assistants stepped into the facility’s classrooms and hospital patient rooms able to familiarize themselves with laboratories, hospital equipment and patient interaction.
More ArLab-based programs, like central sterile processing lab tech and phlebotomy, patient care tech, medical office assistant, certified nursing assistant, substance addiction assistance, and pharmacy tech, will become available in the coming months. The projected enrollment goal for ArLab is 750 students by 2026, with nearly half that on board next year.
It is our expectation that ArLab will effectively meet urgent workforce needs for both job seekers and employers in some of the most critical sectors in the Massachusetts economy. It represents key aspects of successful workforce development strategies including accessibility, barrier removal, strong training models, industry recognized credentialing, and deep employer partnerships.
ArLab is the solution healthcare and biotechnology fields need and our students deserve. We could not do this without the great partnerships we have in the healthcare and business community. Partners for this effort include: Beth Israel Lahey Health; Boston Children’s Hospital; Boston Medical Center; Dana Farber Cancer Institute; Hebrew Senior Life; Lab Central; Mass Eye and Ear; Mass General Brigham; Newton Wellesley Hospital; Northbridge Senior Housing; Spaulding Rehabilitation; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Thermo Fisher; Shire Pharmaceuticals; Northway Biotech; Entrada Therapeutics; Randstad; Seres Therapeutics; Tribute Home Care; Chelsea Jewish Lifecare; St. Elizabeth Medical Center; Brightview Senior Living; Faulkner Hospital; Bane Care; East Boston Neighborhood Health; Bayada; Home Instead; Boston Home; Jewish Family and Children’s Services; Senior Living Residences; Franciscan Children’s Hospital; Presentation Rehabilitation and Skilled care Center; Johnson Compounding and Wellness; Shields Health Solutions; Walgreens; CVS Health; South Shore Hospital.
ArLab is a win for job seekers, employers, and the Commonwealth and we could not be more excited for the impact it will have at this critical moment.