By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-865796.mp3
Utica, NY – Two major announcements today herald an uptick in Central New York's Job Market. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas has details.
The Workforce Investment Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties has received $660,000 in grants from the New York State Department of Labor to provide training in the emerging green sector as well as the high-demand health care sector.
Workforce Investment Board Executive Director Alice Savino says the grants are the result of an outstanding partnership. among Herkimer County Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College and Morrisville State College - all of whom are able to provide training through the grants to help more than 3-hundred emerging workers.The program is expected to begin November 15th. MVCC officials say the first project will be a construction project creating housing for homeless veterans.
MVCC President Randall VanWagoner said: "The college developed its Recovery Act programs to help our young adults and to help the community. We are very glad the WIB is so pleased with our success that we can expand these projects to serve even more of our young adults who need both stronger academics and updated skills."
HCCC President Ann Marie Murray said: "HCCC has a unique blend of programs that can complement what our partners are offering, while also providing both basic skills courses to youth and adults who need them and helping would-be entrepreneurs look at how they can take their skills and develop new businesses here in the Mohawk Valley."
New opportunities in technology, healthcare, financial services and the public sector have overtaken the Mohawk Valley economy's traditional focus on manufacturing, according to a report on the region New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, also released today.
The report note that:
Real estate prices have performed better than in most areas of New York State, with a 60 percent decline in foreclosures during the second quarter of 2009;
The Utica-Rome region lost 6,300 jobs in manufacturing between 2000 and 2008, but gained 9,400 jobs in education, health services and the public sector over the same period;
The Marcy NanoCenter, a new research facility located near the State University of New York Institute of Technology in Utica, will form part of a high-tech research and manufacturing corridor in central New York; Rome is constructing and rehabilitating its downtown neighborhood to provide 33 low-income housing units and a new community facility.
Three-quarters of Mohawk Valley residents live and work in the Utica-Rome metropolitan area. The region's largest employers include the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Utica National Insurance Group and Defense Finance and Accounting Services. Griffiss Air Force Base is now a commercial airport and technology park employing more than 4,000 people.
Read a full copy of the Comptroller's report
Information on WIB enrollment, when available, will be posted online here.