The Baker administration is hailing its HireNow program as a success, saying the $50 million initiative helped spur the hiring of thousands of workers across the state.
I’ve heard from quite a few frustrated employers who aren't nearly as enthusiastic.
Launched in March, HireNow was designed to help business offer training, or hiring bonuses, or both, to employers who hire job candidates who may need some extra training, skills or incentives.
At the time Gov. Charlie Baker described the initiative as a “kick-starter fund,” designed to “give employers an opportunity to go outside their traditional circles to find people who they might not normally bring in the door.”
It was a noble idea, supported by research suggesting that there exists an untapped pool of hidden workers waiting to be connected to unfilled jobs.
Sure enough this week the administration told the Globe’s Jon Chesto that HireNow “has encouraged the hiring of over 11,000 employees at participating employers."
They also revealed that more than 6,000 employers preregistered and the total funding requests exceeded $100 million — double what was allocated.
Which sounds impressive.
Unless you're an employer who made a hire, paid for training, or bonuses, and are -- only now -- finding out that you won’t be getting reimbursed by the Commonwealth because the program was oversubscribed.
“I am really upset about this," one employer told me. "I spent $12,000 on hiring bonuses [I] would never have offered it if I did not think I would get it back.”
The state always said HireNow was “first-come first-serve.” But rules requiring that new hires remain on the job for 60 days, meant that employers had no choice but to dig into their own pockets, cross their fingers and hope they’d get reimbursed.
And for many employers who did just that, Baker's jobs kick-starter, feels more like a kick in the pants.
Job-hoping helping narrow C-suite gender pay gap
A recent Pew Research Center study found that the wage gap has remained largely unchanged for the last 15 years, with women earning 84 percent of what men made for similar jobs in 2020
But Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School researchers have found that pressure to increase gender diversity in C-suites is so intense it's helping close the gender pay gap among senior executives.
Female executives still don’t earn as much as their male counterparts, but a woman in a senior leadership role who switches to a new firm can now expect a salary bump of 25 percent on average, whereas a man making a similar move will see 9 percent more pay, the study found.
“Virtually all of my clients [looking to fill a senior role] will go out of their way to include a woman on the short list,” one recruiter said. “… If a woman is not initially interested in a role because it is not quite big enough or broad enough for her, they’ll often say, ‘OK, OK. You can have this other division of the company as well.’ … They will absolutely happily pay more for women. There is just such a strong push and momentum behind bringing women onto the exec team.”
Women in traditionally male-dominated industries and jobs were offered significantly higher salary increases than men when they changed companies, compared with industries and jobs where women were better represented, the study found.
But job-hopping isn’t helping lower-level women and men still take home more.
In fact, a brand new study shows that the pay difference emerges among college grads virtually as soon as they enter the workforce -- even among those receiving the same degree from the same school.
Happy National Farmers Market Week!
The annual celebration of farmers markets happens once a year but here's four markets you can visit weekly in our communities.
Watertown Farmers MarketWednesdays from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. through Oct. 19 at Saltonstall Park Corner of Main St. & Whites Ave.
Needham Farmers Market every Sunday from 11am-3pm until Thanksgiving. Due to construction on the Town Common, its temporarily located on Greene's Field at the corner of Great Plain Ave and Pickering St in Needham Center.
Newton hosts two markets, one on Tuesday at Cold Spring Park from 1:30-6 p.m. the other on Saturday at Newton North High School from 9:30-12:30 p.m.
Cannabis cafés, one step closer
Six years after being approved by voters, cannabis cafes are one step closer to being able to open in Massachusetts, as part of a new cannabis bill approved in the final hours of the legislative session.
The establishments will be like bars, but for cannabis instead of alcohol. “Instead of a pitcher of beer, customers can enjoy a blunt on a patio with friends at a cannabis lounge, or they can order an edible at a restaurant,” writes Cassie McGrath for the BBJ.
Speaking of cannabis, Watertown’s third and final recreational marijuana retail shop – AYR Wellness -- is celebrating its grand opening Friday.
No, there won’t be free samples. But there will be free tacos.
The Baja Taco Truck will be parked outside the dispensary at 48 N. Beacon Street from noon to 5 p.m., with live music starting at 1 p.m. by DJ KidSpin.
AYR will also be making a donation to the Mosesian Center for the Arts
?during a ribbon cutting that morning at 9:30 a.m.
Other need to knows
Need a refresher on what is, or isn’t, exempt during sales tax holiday weekend this Saturday and Sunday? FAQs here.
Join SBA and Public Private Strategies Institute for a webinar on Aug 17 at 2 p.m. to learn about resources to help you develop effective international business strategies for growth. Details
Discuss approaches to “tackle the labor shortage” at the 2022 Summer Manufacturing Summit, Aug. 17 9:30 a.m. at Framingham State University. Details.
Massachusetts-based and operating businesses may be eligible to apply for a Workplace Safety Training Grant application of up to $25k. The grant program promotes safe and healthy conditions in the workplace through training, education, and other preventative programs. FAQs here.
The second annual Watertown Arts Market returns this Saturday (Aug. 13) at Arsenal Park from noon to 5 p.m.
The national average price for a gallon of gas fell to $4.01 on Monday and is expected to imminently fall below $4, according to estimates by GasBuddy.
Are you reading this while on vacation?
If so, I’m flattered, I suppose. Except, chances are, it isn’t just me.
In a survey 60% of senior execs said they would be more in touch with work while vacationing this year than on previous vacations. More than a third planned to check in with the office multiple times a day, compared with 19% in 2021.
Others said after a couple years of working remotely, they’re accustomed to work spilling into downtime—and including while on vacation.
Nearly half of respondents said they worried about turning on the out-of-office replies.
