The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded more than $13,500,000 to 66 high schools, colleges, and educational or workforce organizations to expand access to hands-on learning opportunities and state-of-the-art technology in schools and colleges across Massachusetts. These grants will fund the purchase and installation of modern equipment that supports career technical education and training aligned with high-demand industries, such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, health care, and biotechnology.
“Massachusetts leads the nation because we invest in ideas — through our schools, our colleges, and our people,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “Our success in innovation and education is no accident — it’s the result of strategic investments. To stay competitive, we need to keep building the best environments for learning and research, and that’s exactly what Skills Capital Grants are doing. They’re how we prepare our students to lead and how we keep Massachusetts leading the world. Our BRIGHT Act dedicates $100 million to Skills Capital Grants to ensure that every community has access to the tools and training that drive opportunity and innovation.”
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said, “As a proud graduate of Salem State University, I know how transformative public higher education can be when students have access to modern, engaging spaces. From classrooms to labs, these are the places where curiosity turns into confidence and careers. STEM Week celebrates that journey — showing students across Massachusetts that innovation starts with them. Through Skills Capital Grants, we’re continuing to invest in the environments that make that possible and ensure every student can see themselves in our state’s innovation story.”
With this new round of Skills Capital Grants, the Healey Driscoll administration has made more than 90 grant awards, investing nearly $45 million in the Skills Capital Grant Program to modernize classrooms, labs, and training centers in high schools, colleges, and educational or workforce organizations statewide since 2023. The program is administered by the Workforce Skills Cabinet, which brings together Executive Office of Education, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the Executive Office of Economic Development, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
“STEM starts now — in every classroom, lab, and after-school program where students are encouraged to ask questions, explore, and create,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “… These grants help provide the updated spaces and tools our students deserve, ensuring that every learner in Massachusetts has the opportunity to prepare for and succeed in our innovation-driven economy.”
Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones said, “The Skills Capital Grants help to ensure students and adult learners access modernized infrastructure, equipment, and technologies — critical to fueling our future talent throughout the Commonwealth’s innovation economy. Building a strong, skilled workforce includes expanding hands-on learning opportunities and leveraging investments through these grants to empower future workers and, in turn, drive the state’s economic competitiveness.”
The Healey-Driscoll Administration has been expanding access to career-connected education in a variety of ways through their Reimagining High School initiative. Healey’s BRIGHT Act includes $100 million for Skills Capital grants. Over the past two and a half years, the administration has approved 49 new Career Technical Education (CTE) programs and recently opened applications for $60 million in CTE program capital grants to add over 2,000 new CTE seats.
These efforts build on expansions the administration has made to Early College programs, Innovation Career Pathways, work-based learning opportunities and My Career and Academic Plan (MyCAP). Together, these efforts reflect a shared commitment to creating learning environments that strengthen Massachusetts’ talent pipeline and sustain the state’s position as a national leader in innovation and workforce readiness.
Peabody Veterans Memorial High School is a Skills Capital grant recipient. It received a $349,059 grant.
