Binal Patel, chief program officer at Neighborhood Villages, previously helped launch and then ran an early childhood program for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in Watertown, MA.

As the child care workforce struggles, so do the families that rely on it. Half the problem for working parents is the cost, which can compare to a second mortgage. On average nationally, child care runs about $11,000 dollars a year per child.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) today announced $5 million in Apprenticeship Expansion and Opportunity Grants to 25 organizations to train and place 1,000 new apprentices across the state. The grants leverage $2.4M in state funding complemented by remaining support from federal funds to train apprentices in high growth industries like clean energy, early childhood education, and more.

Neighborhood Villages, in partnership with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce and City of Boston, launched the program one year ago to help address early education workforce crisis.