Schumer Urges Department of Labor to Support SUNY & Bring Promising Initiative to Community Colleges Around The State
Press Release
Today, on a conference call with reporters, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched his push to secure major federal funding for a SUNY proposal to create a program at 30 community colleges across the state that will train local residents in the growing field of mechatronics and advanced manufacturing to address the jobs-skills mismatch. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field that incorporates engineering, mechanics, electronics, and other technical work. According to SUNY, the field of mechatronics is rapidly growing and Upstate New York companies could create nearly 20,000 mechatronics-related jobs between 2010 and 2020. However, there are not enough workers trained in advanced manufacturing and mechatronics fields to actually fill all of these potential openings. This SUNY proposal seeks to fill the skills gap. Schumer urged the U.S. Department of Labor to bring this promising initiative to Upstate New York by selecting SUNY to receive $15 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant funding to establish this program. The community colleges participating in this program will partner with local companies that are facing a shortage of qualified mechatronics professionals, which will help students find local, skilled and well-paying jobs. Schumer said this kind of investment in New York State would be a boon for local businesses and area residents who need these technical skills for today's workforce.
"This federal funding would be a win-win-win for our SUNY schools, the local businesses looking to hire workers in the growing field of mechatronics and our veterans, unemployed, and adult learners who are looking to break into a highly-skilled, innovative and well-paying field," said Schumer. "That is why I am asking the U.S. Department of Labor to carefully consider and approve SUNY's application. I feel strongly that this program would have a tremendous impact on the entire Upstate New York economy. Employers around the region have made it clear that they are looking to hire people with advanced manufacturing backgrounds, but there are not enough people with the skills to fit the bill. That is why we need to get this program up and running, because there are many people out of work right here in Upstate New York who would jump at the opportunity to get the skills they need to fill some of these open positions."
During the call, Schumer noted the number of potential mechatronics/advanced manufacturing jobs that could be created in each region of the state. The community colleges involved in the application are: Adirondack, Broome, Cayuga, Clinton, Columbia-Greene, Corning, Dutchess, Erie, FIT, Finger Lakes, Fulton-Montgomery, Genesee, Herkimer, Hudson Valley, Jamestown, Jefferson, Mohawk Valley, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, North Country, Onondaga, Orange, Rockland, Schenectady, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tompkins-Cortland, Ulster, and Westchester.
Schumer explained that these 30 SUNY schools across New York State have joined together to submit a consortium application for $15 million from the U.S. Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program. This TAACCCT program funding would be used to establish a system-wide program that would train adult learners, mostly veterans and those who are out of work, in the field of mechatronics. Schumer said, if selected, the consortium will implement new "Mechatronics" degree and certificate programs in many of these community colleges, and train over 1,200 adult learners for careers in the advanced manufacturing industry. Potential fields for these workers include maintenance/repair workers, industrial machinery mechanics, technical sales representatives, electrical and electronics industry technicians; and inspectors, testers, sorters, and weighers. Schumer noted that these jobs can pay up to $34 an hour in some cases.
According to SUNY, the field of mechatronics is a rapidly growing industry and there are nearly 20,000 mechatronics job openings projected to be created across Upstate New York between 2010 and 2020. Within this 10-year time period, New York would stand to benefit from job growth in each region of the state:
-In the Capital Region, there is the potential to add 2,861 jobs in mechatronics between 2010 and 2020.
-In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, there is the potential to add3,317 mechatronics jobs.
-In the Southern Tier, there is the potential to add 2,078 mechatronics jobs.
-In Western New York, there is the potential to add 3,407 mechatronics jobs.
-In Central New York, there is the potential to add 2,875 mechatronics jobs.
-In the Hudson Valley, there is the potential to add 4,141 mechatronics jobs.
-In the North Country, there is the potential to add 841 mechatronics jobs.
Schumer said that the field is booming and that this program would greatly help New York State residents looking to work in the field of advanced manufacturing. Schumer noted that, according to SUNY, in a recent survey of 162 manufacturing employers in New York State, 97.5% indicated that they anticipate growth and/or hiring in the next three to five years. Many businesses around the state, including many partnering with SUNY as part of this program, have indicated a strong need for training mechatronic technicians who are competent, certified, and qualified to work with the complex and extremely expensive machines that populate the modern manufacturing environment. Schumer said that this is an exciting opportunity for veterans, currently unemployed persons, and other adult learners who are looking to break into this field now.
If this funding were awarded, many of the community colleges would partner with a total of over 70 employers in the advanced manufacturing industry that are looking to hire workers in this highly-skilled career field. Schumer explained that SUNY has lined up more than 70 employers from around New York State that will act as local business partners. These local business partners are looking to expand their workforces and have expressed a need to hire employees with the mechatronics skills and certifications that will be provided in this program. Many schools have identified local industry partners that will work with their individual community college programs to train students and place them in the workforce. SUNY also has consortium-wide association and industry partners that all of the schools will be able to access for training and employment needs. The consortium-wide industry partners include: Bartell Machinery Systems, LLC, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, C&S Companies, CAR Engineering and Manufacturing, Chief Executive Network for Manufacturing, Chobani, ConMed, Crucible Industries LLC, Dream It Do It Western New York (DIDIWNY), Frank Murken Products (FMP), Greno Industries, Lockheed Martin, Manufacturers Alliance of New York, Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier (MAST), Manufacturing Institute, Marquardt Switches Inc., Morse Manufacturing Co., Inc., National Grid, National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), NY Assoc. Training & Employment Professionals (NYATEP), Obrien & Gere's, Precision Grinding & Manufacturing Corp., Specialty Silicone Products, Inc., SRCTec, Inc., Welch Allyn.
Schumer noted that SUNY community colleges have been successful before in receiving this grant. Back in 2012, Schumer worked with 30 community colleges on developing a program called the Training and Education in Advanced Manufacturing (TEAM) Educational Pathways Project, which eventually received $14.6 million in funding through the TAACCCT program. The TEAM Project has established permanent worker training programs at the 30 community colleges that were part of the consortium in growing fields like nanotechnology and biosciences.
According to SUNY, although many colleges have launched successful retraining efforts in partnership with their local employers, New York State continues to lack a seamless educational pathway targeted at workers entering mechatronics. Employers are currently not able to meet their employment needs in the field of advanced manufacturing. Schumer said that this presents an immense opportunity for New York to train and then ultimately employ more workers in this highly desirable field.
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