America’s current rate of unemployment is sitting at . There are states with much higher unemployment levels, though–California and New York are both at 8.7 and 8.9 percent, respectively.

What does this mean? Basically, it means that on average, 7.3 percent of Americans are without jobs or are seeking jobs.

Since the start of stable work, the government has always been aware of the unemployment rate, and it’s always been a very hot topic. But never has a real solution to unemployment come from either side. So companies, institutes, and even schools are starting to put their heads together to figure out a way to lower the unemployment in their own states.

In a town in the middle of Massachusetts called Tyngsboro, there is a high school named Greater Lowell Technical High School. The high school has initiated a new program to help unemployed people enter into the manufacturing work force.

The school’s director of personal service applied for a grant through the , which works on bringing agencies and employers together to strengthen the advanced manufacturing industry.

The grant gave the school nearly $44,000, helping the school help 12 adults succeed in manufacturing.

The school also partners with a nearby community college–Middlesex Community College–to offer machining classes to individuals who have been laid off because of advances in machinery. Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium offers help to other community colleges throughout the area, as well.

The goal, though, is to help the 12 participants find jobs by the end of the school year.

The school also offers help with mock interviews every Friday, as well as allowing them to shadow area employers. There really isn’t anything the school wouldn’t do to help these 12 participants get to their end goal.

The Northeast Advanced Manufacturing has partnered with other schools to help them work side-by-side with vocational schools that offer excellent courses in machinery and other electronic technology.

These types of programs try to pinpoint what the industry needs and then they tailor their programs to fit the needs. The people who run these programs want to see not only the manufacturing industry boom, but also the unemployment rate of the whole country go down.

These small, but very important, opportunities open up larger opportunities for unemployed people around the area, and they’re starting to pop up all over the country.

So although unemployment will always be a big factor in the government, it seems that schools have taken it into their own hands to help whoever they can. Manufacturing offers a great solution to unemployment—there are many open jobs that need filling—it’s just a matter of giving people the right skills they need to get moving.

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