February 12, 2009 12:53 PM

Grants for older workers announced
Posted by Jesse Nunesat 12:53 PM

This article originally appeared in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Chris Reidy, Globe staff

A Massachusetts state agency said it has issued grants that target worker retention strategies.

"The purpose of these grants is to research and design methods of retaining older workers in fields such as health care, manufacturing, and higher education,” Secretary Suzanne M. Bump of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said in a statement. “With these new strategies in mind, businesses in the commonwealth will be better prepared to preserve and maintain an experienced and knowledgeable workforce.”

One recipient of a $50,000 grant is the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said Bump's office, which added that this grant "focuses on analyzing strategies that may impact the retirement of perioperative nurses.

An agency press release noted that the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts at Boston is another recipient of a $50,000 grant; the grant will go towards a study of tenured faculty.