The Westchester/Putnam Workforce Investment Board ”“ WPWIB ”“ has been hard at work in the current economic downturn, helping local businesses find skilled workers and further train their current employees. And for job seekers, WPWIB ”“ which provides policy directions and program oversight to the workforce development programs in Westchester and Putnam counties ”“ offers everything from career counseling and assistance in landing new jobs, to gaining valuable new skills through subsidized training.
It”™s been an especially challenging time for WPWIB and its staff, led by Director Donnovan Beckford. Changing economic landscapes and the sluggish job market are prompting the officials to focus on industries with a strong prospect for growth and future jobs. For the unemployed, it also means more training and job searching. And WPWIB is continuing to offer its wide array of programs even at a time when such initiatives often face shrinking budgets.
In conjunction with WPWIB”™s upcoming “One-Stop” campaign to further promote its jobs and training programs, the Business Journal and HV Biz will take an in-depth look during the coming week at the board”™s successful undertaking at helping businesses and job seekers.
The focus will be how WPWIB”™s “One-Stop” program has assisted individuals and corporations in sectors ranging from hospitality to fast-growing biotechnology, during the ongoing economic malaise. Some of the programs featured will be “mini-MBA” courses for local biotech executives and ESL classes for foreign-born hospitality workers, to initiatives to give teenagers career counseling and internships.
Partnering for progress
Even though times are still difficult for local businesses and workers alike, WPWIB and its “One Stop Employment Center” (www.westchesterputnamonestop.com) can offer a helping hand, with tailored programs and subsidies ”“ so that companies and the local workforce can remain competitive in this challenging economy.
Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino commented that WPWIB offers important tools in boosting private businesses that create private-sector jobs. “Government doesn”™t create private sector jobs, but we help those who do,” he said. “That is why Westchester County is working hard to align the workforce development needs of businesses with government resources, with the goal of helping residents learn skills, find jobs and start new businesses that may employ others.”
Putnam County Executive Paul Eldridge added that the workforce partnership is “a tremendous, free resource that exists in the county for both job seekers and businesses alike,” and it”™s a collaborative effort to serve the business community most effectively and efficiently.
One of the challenges is to try to match the needs of various industries with limited government resources, to ensure that Westchester and Putnam counties have the best-performing workforce, said Beckford. To that end, WPWIB has been focusing on growth industries and helping businesses that have “promise for employment and high-wage jobs.” Currently, these industry partnerships include six sectors ”“ health care, green, hospitality, biotech, banking and finance and advanced manufacturing ”“ with each sector represented by respective business leaders.
Tailoring programs to industries
Working with these individual sectors, WPWIB has been rolling out wide-ranging, subsidized programs to help train individuals. These range from sales-training courses at Pace University and Westchester Community College, and tailored on-the-job training for local businesses to wage-subsidy initiatives, and subsidized internships so that local companies could hire qualified, skilled workers who have been laid off.
One of the recent highlights was the announcement of mini-MBA courses for biotech workers. “Most recently, the Workforce Investment Board put together, in connection with the Office of Economic Development, a grant in a public-private partnership, with three local biotech firms, where we would put up $30,000,” said Laurence Gottlieb, director of economic development for Westchester County. “Three firms put up the other $30,000, by $10,000 each, and combined to create a mini-MBA program. The first one”™s going to start in June. And this is the best example of public-private partnership there is, which is using government money to help train workers to expand their own businesses.”
In the hospitality sector, WPWIB is organizing English-language courses for workers at 11 local hotels.
“A lot of what we do in this office is about creating partnerships. The theme of ”˜One Stop”™ is connecting,” added Beckford. “We are connecting job seekers to businesses. We are connecting job seekers to training providers and we are connecting training providers to businesses.”
Thinking high-tech
WPWIB is also partnering with the Westchester County”™s Office of Economic Development and Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. to help brand the local biotechnology sector. Through a campaign called “New York BioHud Valley,” they have been branding the region”™s biotech cluster, using it as a platform to promote the work that these fast-growing companies are doing and further attract high-tech startups.
Other branding efforts include showcasing the region”™s highly educated workforce. “Some 45 percent of our residents, 25 years or older, hold (a) bachelor”™s degree or higher. Half of those individuals hold an advanced degree. That”™s an amazing number,” said Gottlieb.
High-tech firms that are dependent on a highly educated workforce would be attracted to a region with an available pool of smart workers. “When we look at what types of things we need to attract new companies, one that immediately jumped to the top of the list was intellectual capital,” Gottlieb said. “So last September, the Westchester County government launched a campaign where it trademarked Westchester County as ”˜New York”™s Intellectual Capital.”™ That had a tremendous, tremendous ripple effect on a lot of different industries.”
New businesses, future workforce
Another way WPWIB ”“ working with government and private groups ”“ helps workers is by teaching them how to start and grow their own businesses. “Working in connection with several other organizations such as Women”™s Enterprise Development Center and The Business Council of Westchester, we put together programs called Start-up Academy and Entrepreneurial Academy,” said Gottlieb. “We help folks who lost their jobs and are considering starting their own business. We had about three classes already conducted over the past year.
“And we now have individuals from those classes that actually went from planning to starting their own businesses, which is phenomenal. We get e-mails from time to time, from these folks that either closed their first deal or sold their first item and the excitement is just incredible.”
One additional piece of the puzzle in WPWIB”™s employment-assistance effort is its youth program. “Our youth program is very unique in that it serves young people from 14 to 21 years old,” Beckford said.
It offers local youth the opportunities to engage in businesses whether it”™s internships or summer employment. “And we”™ve had a tremendous success rate. It creates a pipeline of opportunities for young people as they face their future,” Beckford said.
This year, businesses have been very responsive for the summer employment program. So far, he said, more than 30 companies have made a commitment to hire young people, many of whom would otherwise not be employed because public funding for these programs have been drying up.
