While many factors go into the decision making process of an expanding or relocating business, increasingly the number one issue is availability of a trained workforce.
The benefits of a well-trained workforce are clear: increased productivity and better quality; higher morale; greater retention; and lower production cost. But these results can be elusive in a tight labor market and a more mobile, ever changing society.
Workforce preparedness, whether targeted at training and placing into employment our region’s economically disadvantaged and at-risk citizens or enhancing the skills of those already employed so that they can more effectively meet the requirements of higher-skill jobs and utilize new technologies, involves three essential elements.
First, the public and private sectors need to develop a common understanding of a community’s demographics, the skills that exist there and what academic and vocational programs are available. This provides the base on which to assess the ability to identify a capable and trainable workforce.
Second, there must be a realization that today’s workforce is not the same as it was twenty, ten or even five years ago. Today working for a single employer for one’s entire professional life is now the exception rather than the rule, thus making it more difficult to retain experienced personnel. With the rapid advances in technology leading to a greater number of employees teleworking, a potential pool of workers is no longer limited to the immediate geographic area of the employer’s office. And with lifelong learning becoming the norm, workers are not only changing jobs but also careers with increasing frequency. These changes require an employer to take a different view in assessing the workforce and considering new options such as workers from a different industry, a location outside the immediate area, or who are looking for new career challenges.
And third, workforce development strategies need to be a partnership of the private sector, both management and labor, state and local government, the educational community, economic development corporations, and community based organizations. While creating a shared vision and developing a common approach to implementing the elements of that vision are essential building blocks of an effective system, the partnerships must also be flexible enough to provide customized training services to meet the unique needs of individual businesses.
In Ulster County these elements come together under the thirty-one member, private sector lead, countywide Workforce Development Board (WDB). The WDB with its broad-based membership representing business, educators, organized labor, rehabilitation agencies, economic development corporations, public employment and training agencies and community based organizations is the focal point for surveying businesses, identify training needs and developing collaborative solutions.
The training services are provided by a wide array of public and private sources.
The programs of SUNY Ulster are designed to address the changing needs of businesses and to prepare a workforce for the future in areas such as industrial technology, engineering science and electrical technology, environmental control and safety, database management and geographic information science. The School of Business at SUNY New Paltz is preparing the next generation of the Hudson Valley’s entrepreneurs, managers and CEOs. And the Ulster County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) is working to enhance the capacity of local schools to enable students to meet both the performance requirements of New York State and the skills requirements of an information based global economy. Equally important are its adult education and vocational training services, offered through the BOCES Career and Technical Center and the Ulster Technology Center.
The efforts of Ulster’s educational institutions are supported by the Ulster County School-To-Work Partnership. The Partnership brings together the worlds of education and business through job shadowing, internships and mentoring. These are the “real-life” experiences that are critical in developing tomorrow’s local workforce today
In addition to these local services, numerous programs are offered through the state and federal government and regional organizations. The Center for Workforce Advancement, with an Ulster office located in Highland, offers needs analysis, performance consulting, training and development services and online learning. The New York State Empire State Development Corporation provides financial assistance to businesses for training activities through its Strategic Training Alliance and JOBS Now programs, and the U.S. Department of Labor offers new worker and retraining assistance through the Employment and Training Administration. Finally, the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center provides services that include operational improvements and workforce development assistance.
The common element to the many variables of workforce development is the Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC). As the lead economic development organization for the county, UCDC is a source of information on social and business demographics and workforce training programs. Furthermore, we act as a liaison with the Ulster County WDB, state and federal agencies, and other Hudson Valley development organizations. The UCDC is here to make the task of workforce development easier for businesses to understand and more importantly easier to accomplish.
Working together UCDC, the public and private sectors, and our educators can make Ulster the home of the workforce for the 21st Century.
