By Yuan Ma
BU News Service

Two area lawmakers are leading a new legislative caucus focused on bolstering the state’s manufacturing sector with new policies aimed at building an educated workforce for the industry’s jobs.

The Manufacturing Caucus, chaired by state Rep. John Fernandes, D-Milford, and state Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, will have more than 50 members.

“Manufacturing is one of the top employers in Massachusetts and the industry only continues to grow,” state Senate President Therese Murray said in a press release, announcing the caucus on Thursday.

“These large and small-sized manufacturing companies often provide meaningful jobs for thousands of new and retrained workers, offer middle-class level wages, and energize regional suppliers and ancillary businesses for long-term growth,” Fernandes said in the press release.

Moore said manufacturing is vitally important to the Massachusetts economy. “Partnering with manufacturing leaders to ensure that their companies have the tools and highly trained workforce they need to grow is an essential component of our strategy for economic growth,” he said.

Manufacturing is among the largest sectors of the Massachusetts economy contributing to more than 10 percent of gross state product (GSP). In Central Massachusetts, it accounts for nearly 17 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP). Currently, there are 7,680 manufacturing establishments in Massachusetts that employ more than 275,000 residents. Over the next five years, manufacturing establishments are expected to expand their employment by an estimated 65 percent, according to the press release.

This article first appeared on the Milford Daily News.