John S. Hoops, Ph.D.
Senior Associate
John Hoops has extensive background in the design and delivery of workforce development services in the field of manufacturing technologies and processes. In addition, he has held positions in state government relating to the development and implementation of public policy around workforce development and its relationships to economic development.
Most recently, Hoops was the Executive Director of the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association and of its educational arm, the Western Mass Precision Machining Institute. Hoops joined the Institute and Chapter in 1996 and helped the Institute expand and deepen its curriculum, raise significant state funding, and become an accredited educational organization.
In the mid-1980s and 1990s, Hoops worked in Massachusetts's quasi-public organizations and state government. Hoops began working in Massachusetts's government as a policy analyst in the Executive Office of Labor. He helped secure legislative approval for the first manufacturing extension service in Massachusetts, the Center for Applied Technology, which he eventually directed.
At the quasi-public Center for Applied Technology, Hoops helped develop and then led assistance programs to small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. These services integrated workforce and technology development in order to help smaller companies and their workforces raise their value in the marketplace. These programs were funded by the US Department of Labor and by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
At the Bay State Skills Corporation, as Director of Industrial Modernization and Applied Technology Services, Hoops developed and oversaw the Massachusetts Manufacturing Network Program that was funded by the Commonwealth and became one of the largest programs of its type in the country. In addition, Hoops led creation of the New England Suppliers Institute, which gathered participation of five New England states to assist manufacturers to secure competitive and high quality suppliers in New England. Both the Network program and the Suppliers Institute received considerable national attention as innovative models.
As a consultant and member of advisory boards, Hoops has worked with the National Alliance of Business, National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Tooling and Machining Association, community colleges in New England, corporations, Regional Employment Boards (PICs) and various public agencies concerned with curriculum design, workforce development and manufacturing support services. He is currently a member of the national Education Team for the National Tooling and Machining Association.
