County officials have endorsed a regional education and training plan to add workers to the region and bolster an aging workforce.
During a county legislature meeting Monday evening,legislators unanimously approved to provide $60,000 for the campaign proposed by the Three Rivers Development Corp. of Corning.
As part of the I-86 Innovation Corridor plan, the funds are intended to increase the number of targeted occupations, including healthcare workers, truck drivers, physicians and pharmacy technicians.
Jamie Johnson, executive director for Steuben County Industrial Development Agency, said he supports the campaign. With proper funding, strategies to develop K-12 workforce pipelines, will attract local talent and develop local programs, he said.
“Not every kid needs to go to college,” Johnson said.
“Individuals learn in different ways. We need to think about educating and training our workforce differently, and that always doesn’t fit into traditional education models,” Johnson added.
With many current workforce employees nearing the age of retirement, officials worry the gap will not be filled.
Mike Krusen, president of the Southern Tier Economic Growth, said many local businesses have job openings with good pay but no one to fill them. Krusen said some employers have told him they cannot get their employees to show up to work every day. He added local businesses have the means to expand and grow, but not the right amount of employees to do so.
“This is not just upstate New York,” Johnson said. “This is a national issue.”
According to Three Rivers, the projected budget will be $161,000. Steuben County and Chemung County both voted to contribute $60,000 each, and Schuyler County will contribute $30,000. The Three Rivers Development Corporation will contribute $11,000.
Linda Palmer, clerk of the Chemung County Legislature, said the first $30,000 will be taken from the contingency fund in 2017 and the other $30,000 will be budgeted for 2018.