COUNCIL OF INDUSTRY STRESSES NEED FOR TECH-EDUCATED WORKFORCE

Elisha Tropper, center, president and CEO, Cambridge Security Seals with, from left, Council of Industry President and CEO Harold King and Johnnieanne Hansel, vice president. Photo by Kathy Kahn.

The Hudson Valley, home to many large manufacturers, including IBM, is having a hiring crisis: a shortage of skilled workers to fill a variety of jobs. It”™s a subject Council of Industry President and CEO Harold King shared with members of the Rockland Business Association members at its January luncheon. Of the challenges, King said energy, or the lack thereof, will make for an interesting few years, particularly with the increased call for electricity. “However, he said, 60% -70% of our challenge remains centered on workforce development.”

When companies began deploying business overseas 30 years ago, training programs that were once the mainstay of large manufacturers dried up, along with traditional shop classes in middle and high schools, said King. “The word is getting out. It”™s just going to take time.”