I was very excited to read about one of my long time clients, Michael Tamasi. He was invited to the White House on January 31st. Please read the press release below

Local CEO Participates at White House Events on Returning Long-Term Unemployed to Work 

Avon, MA – February 3, 2014:  Michael Tamasi, CEO of AccuRounds, was invited to the White House on Friday, January 31 to take part in an event convened by President Obama to discuss strategies for helping our nation’s nearly 4 million long-term unemployed get back into the labor market. 

Sector partnerships were one of the strategies highlighted at the event as a tool to help the long-term unemployed re-train for new well-paying, family-supporting careers. These business-led partnerships bring together multiple firms within the same industry along with local colleges, training providers, community-based organizations and workforce investment boards. The employers work together to define common skill standards for hard-to-fill positions, and then partner organizations align publicly funded training and support services to prepare people for those jobs.  

Tamasi was called to the White House to share AccuRounds’ successes in building a partnership to re-employ local residents in the manufacturing industry. A number of organizations promoting the national  expansion of sector partnerships were also in attendance, including National Skills Coalition, (National Fund for Workforce Solutions), and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships. Other event participants included CEOs from national corporations such as Boeing Co., Bank of America and Ebay, small and medium-sized employers, foundations, and other local organizations working to help the long-term unemployed in a variety of ways.  

Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker joined President Obama at the event to discuss a number of new efforts by the Obama Administration to bring attention to the long-term unemployed. President Obama announced he is dedicating $150 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Labor for “job-driven training partnerships,” also known as sector partnerships, to help the long-term unemployed get back to work, building on the successful models developed by such organizations as AccuRounds.

Prior to this event, President Obama, along with Vice-President Biden, Secretary Perez and Secretary Pritzker, convened twenty of the top CEO’s in the country to share best practices and strategize on how to collaborate in moving successful initiatives forward.  Tamasi was one of only two small businesses to participate in this forum.  This intimate roundtable discussion was productive, with Tamasi providing input from a small business perspective, asking the Fortune 100 CEO’s to include SME’s in future dialogue to assure that the entire supply chain has a voice.

“It was an honor to represent AccuRounds, and small businesses across the country, at the White House”, said Tamasi.  “It’s encouraging that small business had a voice at the CEO roundtable, and that needs to continue.  The skills gap is a serious issue and sector partnerships are the best opportunity to close that gap.”  Later that afternoon, Tamasi was a guest on the Fox Business News show “After the Bell” further stressing the importance of sector partnerships in closing the huge skills gap in America.  

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AccuRounds, located in Avon, MA, is a contract manufacturer that machines and assembles precision turned components for industries including medical, aerospace, semiconductor and emerging technology.  For more information, visit www.accurounds.com.