Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Two Cape Cods: Hidden Poverty on the Cape and Islands - Part 19

Cape Codders have never been much for commuting. Like the Berkshires, Mass. region, most of the people who live in Cape Cod year-round, tend to make their living here, too. But things are changing. Bourne is a Cape Cod town where going to work off-Cape means more opportunities to escape a tourist and service-driven economy.

As it is, pretty much any local can find a job on Cape Cod, if it's summertime and they're willing to work for fairly little money. The state counts about 38,000 hospitality and retail jobs here (more than any other types of industry) and both categories are among the lowest paying ways to make a living in the state.

The cost of living is high, and the average wage is low, about $35k a year. That's about $14k lower than the average for the rest of the state. What these statistics say is that for more and more Cape Codders, things just aren't working out. A growing number of locals are struggling to survive here, and many are leaving.

But there is another group of Cape Codders dealing with the struggle to make it here in a different way ? by commuting to work. For example, when Chris and Kristina Lerardi leave their Borne home and head off to work each morning, Chris travels west to Wareham and Kristina goes East to Hyannis.

Kristina Lerardi: "My neighbors also do the same thing. Many of my neighbors have commuted to Hanover, to Braintree. I have one neighbor right now who commutes way up on the North Shore, almost to the New Hampshire border on a daily basis. And most of the people in my neighborhood don't actually work on the Cape. There's two of us who have been working on the Cape, and that's about it."

The Lerardi's call this commuting arrangement the best of both worlds. They enjoy the Cape waters and recreation while also having significantly more options when it comes to affording a family home in the area for themselves and their two-year-old son.

Kristina Lerardi: "I think part of it is the types of jobs that are available down here on the Cape, but also the pay scale seems to be less here on the Cape than in Boston or other parts of Massachusetts. But the availability of jobs, the number of jobs that are available, certainly increases when you have both the Cape to choose from as well as Southeastern Mass. and the Boston area. The number of job opportunities increases greatly."

David Agostinho is the executive director of the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board. The group pays attention to the region's workforce needs, and does whatever it can to ensure that the people who live here have the training they need to fill available jobs. Agostinho says the number of people commuting elsewhere to work each day is growing, particularly on the Upper Cape, where it's easiest to get over the bridges. It's a significant change.

David Agostinho: "We are trying to create opportunities that will allow people to have that choice of staying here. Because right now there is no choice. And yes there is a mismatch in many ways. We talk about what's a Cape Cod career? Well, a Cape Cod career is you have three jobs, and you piece them together and you work sixty hours a week and you scrape through and you can raise a couple of kids. And we think that we can cut into that if we can develop some areas that are more technologically related than some of our occupational categories."

There is a push by the Workforce Investment Board, the Chambers of Commerce, and others to diversify the Cape economy and attract new and emerging industries, particularly in the areas of science and technology. These jobs would likely come with higher wages. Right now, you have the best chance of finding a well-paying job on Cape Cod if you are a doctor or a nurse, or if you can repair cars, pound nails, or hang sheet rock.

David Agostinho: "There are a lot of good jobs in construction, that is an industry that is having trouble filling a lot of jobs. We have a crying need for carpenters in this region, and of course, that is an area I work closely with to try and find the employees they need. We are very lucky here that we have the two regional technical schools here that help to feed the construction industry."

At the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School in Bourne, students can train in car repair, carpentry and in a variety of other well-paying trades, as well as in health occupations. Employment numbers indicate that the students that graduate from the Cape's two technical schools appear well equipped to stay in the region and perhaps even find their way into the housing market. Upper Tech Principal Kevin Farr says there seems to be growing recognition among Cape and South Coast residents that as things stand now, the bulk of the Cape's future middle class will likely come from its technical schools.

Kevin Farr: "Based upon the level of interest in our school, we now see for approximately 180 spots we have in our freshmen class, we have well over 350 applications. And many many of those students are sons and daughters of graduates in our schools who are providing those services on the Cape ? plumbing, electrical, healthcare, carpentry, etc., who now see the value of a career in technical education."

In 2004, only 19% of the for-hire positions on the Cape required a college associate's degree or higher. Statewide, the number was 40%. The service-based, tourism-driven economy on Cape Cod just doesn't need many college grads. Groups like the Workforce Investment Board are hoping they can attract new industry, so young, well-educated locals don't have to go somewhere else to work and raise their own families.