Located in the densely populated area surrounding Boston and in proximity to dozens of top-notch colleges, universities, business schools and training centers, Middlesex 3 has a vast pool of highly educated and motivated candidates for employment in a multitude of fields.

Educational institutions and organizations in the area provide education and training to help businesses keep pace with industry’s ever-changing technologies. The Middlesex 3 total labor force in 2015 is estimated at 166,000.

Colleges and Universities

Middlesex Community College (MCC)
Lowell and Bedford Campuses

Middlesex Community College’s Business & Industry Programs provides customized, cost-effective, corporate education and training to employers and organizations with credit or non-credit programs for a wide range of skill levels. Programs are available onsite at employer locations, on campus, or online. In addition, MCC can assist companies in writing Workforce Training applications.


Northeastern University
Kostas Research Institute
Burlington, MA

Building V at Northeastern's Innovation Campus
Northeastern Innovation Campus

The mission of the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security is to advance resilience in the face of 21st century risks. The institute fosters collaborative, use-inspired research aimed at expanding the capacity of communities, critical systems, and infrastructure to withstand, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural catastrophes. The new facility offers a secure environment for innovative translational research conducted by private-public-academic multidisciplinary research teams. In addition to research, the Kostas Institute will also serve a convening function for researchers, the university community, and practitioners in the fields of homeland security and emergency management.


University of Massachusetts, Lowell (UML)

UMass Lowell

University of Massachusetts Lowell is an active education leader in the Middlesex 3 corridor area.  The University provides assistance to local businesses in the following areas:

Continuing & Corporate Education
UML offers graduate and undergraduate courses, degrees and certificates online and on campus in areas such as Information Technology, Engineer Technology, Business Administration, Liberal Arts, Psychology, Multimedia, and Website Development. UML also offers customized training solutions to companies worldwide using a variety of learning formats.

Internship & Co-Op Opportunities, Office of Career Services
Career Services helps students successfully transition from their academic pursuits to their career goals by promoting and facilitating career education, exploration of options and connections with employers.

Research
UML is a nationally ranked research university with more than $50 million in funded research being conducted each year. Research happens through 37 interdisciplinary centers and institutes, by graduate and undergraduate students and with corporate sponsorship.


Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Lincoln Laboratory
Lexington, MA

As a Department of Defense Research and Development Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory conducts research and development aimed at solutions to problems critical to national security.

Research at the Laboratory includes projects in air and missile defense, space surveillance technology, tactical systems, biological and chemical defense, homeland protection, communications, cyber security, and information sciences. The Laboratory takes projects from the initial concept stage, through simulation and analysis, to design and prototyping, and finally to field demonstration.

Contact: ll.mit.edu/contactinformation.html

Local Workforce Resources


Fast Facts

  • Middlesex County ranks as the most educated county in the most educated state in the nation. 49.3% of Middlesex County residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher (source: 2006-10 American Community Survey
  • Massachusetts ranked #1 in concentration of tech workers in 2014 with 9.8% of the workforce in tech jobs and #2 in average tech wages $121,000 (source: U.S. Bureau of labor statistics)
  • As of 2014, Middlesex County has 7,478 technology firms and 185,377 technology jobs (source: US Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2014)

M3 Workforce Development Committee

Middlesex 3 Coalition members formed a Workforce Development Subcommittee to address common workforce issues affecting region.

For more information on this committee or if interested in joining, please contact Stephanie Cronin, M3 Executive Director.


Technical High Schools