Governor Cuomo Announces $3 Million To Support New York State's Workforce Needs

LongIsland.com

SUNY and State Department of Labor to Create Up to 2,000 New Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Positions in Advanced Manufacturing & Healthcare.

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NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

Photo by: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, via Flickr.

Albany, NY - May 29, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a $3 million investment for The State University of New York and the State Department of Labor to partner with New York businesses on the development of registered apprenticeship positions that directly answer New York's workforce needs. The Governor's program dedicates funding specific to the creation of up to 2,000 new pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship positions in advanced manufacturing and healthcare over the next four to six years.
 
"A trained workforce is a strong workforce, and these registered apprenticeship programs address a growing need for skilled workers in advanced manufacturing and healthcare," Governor Cuomo said. "These critically important apprenticeship programs will support out workforce and create good-paying jobs that are the foundation of New York's middle class."
 
As part of the program, SUNY campuses convened employers for industry roundtables on a statewide and regional basis to aid in the expansion of registered apprenticeships. These groups will help identify particular workforce needs and skills gaps to be filled through the registered apprenticeship program, and discuss how employers can become sponsors. SUNY and NYSDOL will seek to link the roundtables to the work of the Regional Economic Development Councils and the Statewide Workforce Development Boards to help meet workforce development needs in critical industries across the state.
 
"As our economy continues to grow across the state, the importance of skilled labor continues to rise," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "There are so many careers today that go beyond the traditional four-year college model, and it is important for our state to invest in this key component of our workforce. This new partnership between SUNY, the Department of Labor, and the private sector will help New Yorkers to secure the training they need to be successful in advanced manufacturing and healthcare careers."
 
"Creating the best educated workforce comes from a continuum that connects the academic curriculum to real-life work experiences in a logical progression for the student, and our campuses have been doing just that with faculty and leadership in close partnership with local businesses," said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. "This work is strengthened by the Governor's investment, which will expand access to our targeted workforce development programs for our students and answer the economic needs in our communities."
 
"The New York State Department of Labor wants to ensure that every New Yorker has an opportunity to build a career, and not just get a job—and the registered apprenticeship program will provide that opportunity," said State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. "This program will blend work and classroom experience, creating a career path for young men and women throughout New York State. The Department of Labor is excited to partner with SUNY, as this program will yield a portable, certified credential at completion. We are proud to implement Governor Cuomo's vision that will pave a clear road to a strong, diverse middle-class workforce."
 
"We are pleased that Mohawk Valley and Schenectady County Community Colleges will lead and operate advanced manufacturing and healthcare hubs, respectively," said Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Vice Chancellor of Community Colleges and the Education Pipeline. "Together in partnership with SUNY system and NYSDOL, each campus will coordinate employer relations, program development, and outreach activities to both potential and existing apprentices. Each will also develop partnerships with other colleges, supporting an apprenticeship network across New York State." 
 
Randall J. VanWagoner, President, Mohawk Valley Community College, said, "Apprenticeships are an outstanding way to blend the career-themed academic programs we and our partner colleges offer with the needs of our employers, as well as giving traditionally underrepresented populations an alternative path to a good-paying career. Higher education is a vital partner in preparing workers for the future and increasing the skills of workers who are helping our state and region compete against the world. This project continues SUNY's tradition of forging strong partnerships with employers and other colleges so that we can provide opportunity to the people of our state and region."  
 
The registered apprenticeship program will enhance on-the-job training and related instruction for apprenticeships that include competency based training, exploring certificate, and degree programs with apprenticeship, as well as incorporating online modules and the use of subject matter and faculty experts to assist in updating curricula. Additionally, the program will explore new ideas for pre-apprenticeship training to include pathways for underrepresented minority populations.
 
SUNY has a proven history of workforce development programs. All 64 campuses offer students high-quality applied learning opportunities, and 15 of those campuses will soon require an applied learning experience to graduate. Applied learning programs include but are not limited to:
 
SUNY Works - internships, clinical placements in which more than 20,000 SUNY students are already enrolled; and cooperative education programs, in which SUNY faculty and area employers have jointly developed curricula that integrate classroom instruction and on-the-job experience. Approximately 1,740 students are currently enrolled in cooperative education programs across SUNY.
 
SUNY Serves - service-learning, community service, civic engagement and volunteerism. More than 30,000 SUNY students are currently engaged in formal service-learning programs for which they earn college credit, while tens of thousands more participate in community service and volunteer locally, nationally and around the globe.
 
SUNY Discovers - study abroad, student research, entrepreneurial ventures and field study. While SUNY research has a proud history of breakthrough discoveries, inventions and startups, our increased focus on applied learning has led to an unprecedented level of collaboration between SUNY students, faculty and industry experts to enable commercialization of the best ideas and innovations born at our campuses.
 
In addition, SUNY's longstanding Educational Opportunity Centers deliver community-based, academic, and workforce development programs and services to more than 20,000 adult learners at more than 40 locations across the state. EOCs assist students in re-entering the education pipeline who may have dropped out of school, are underprepared for the workforce or higher education, or who are seeking new or different skill sets in order to take advantage of new employment opportunities.
 
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school, and business in the state. As of Fall 2017, more than 430,000 students were enrolled in a degree program at a SUNY campus. In total, SUNY served nearly 1.4 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs in the 2016-17 academic year. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in $1 billion of externally sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.