WIB ANNOUNCES AVAILIBILITY OF MANUFACTURING TRAINING FUNDS
Through a collaborative grant with the Southern Tier counties, The Work Force Investment Board (WIB) recently announced the availability of training funds to Southern Tier private sector manufacturing companies. Funds are available on a first come first serve basis for the period of February 1, 2010 through October 15, 2010. Individual awards may not exceed $10,000.00 per company.
The deadline for submitting a “P-18 talent pipeline proposal” is February 5, 2010. The focus of the “P-18 talent pipeline” proposal is on talent attraction, development and retention that supports STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills needed in the future manufacturing workforce. For more information, call WIB at 716-661-9553
‘GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY” 2010 CHAMBER NETWORKING MIXER THEME
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce has set its Networking Mixer lineup for the 2010 calendar year. This year’s Networking Mixers focus around the theme of giving back to the community.
“Over the past two years, we have focused around really getting our membership involved in making those valuable connections through ice breaker games,” explained Jenny Ingrao, Events Manager for the Chamber. “Now that great connections have been made in our membership, we wanted to be able to bring it to a new level in which our organization can give back to the Chautauqua County community and the themes this year are aligned with that goal.”
The 2010 Networking Mixer dates are as follows:
January 21 – “Donate Blood” at The White Inn
April 22 – “Earth Day” at the Jamestown Audubon Society
May 20 – “National Stroke Awareness Month” at Chautauqua PT, OT & SLP Professionals
June 17 – “National Great Outdoors Month” at The Watermark
July 22 – “4-H - Head, Heart, Hand, Health” at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds
August TBA – “Chamber Day at the Ballpark” at the Jamestown Jammers
December 16 - “Angel Tree” at the Clarion Hotel in Dunkirk
For more information on the events listed or to become a sponsor contact Jenny Ingrao, Events Manager at (716) 366-6200 or email jingrao@chautauquachamber.org
“DREAM IT, DO IT” CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
Last fall marked the successful launch of the “Dream It, Do It” campaign with the Industrial Opportunities and Possibilities Days, (iPODs) at Jamestown Community College. The event introduced students to the area’s manufacturers and the many highly-skilled careers available in the field of advanced manufacturing.
According to Dave Johnson, Industrial Services Manager for The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, the “Dream It, Do It” campaign continues this year with a number of planned initiatives.
The first, according to Johnson, is implementation of a “catch and referral” data base, which will provide numerous resources and information on manufacturing. This will provide information on identifying careers and educational requirements, internships, manufacturers, or products made in Chautauqua County. In addition, this network will also permit job seekers and others to ask specific questions and receive an answer within 24 hours via email.
Johnson said another event in the works this spring will introduce high school students to the concept of “lean manufacturing.” Lean manufacturing is defined as a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement. This follows the fall “iPOD” days event and spring tech tour of ’09 – activities intended to provide students with a unique perspective and close-up look at manufacturing and its needs.
The campaign’s local web-site, www.didiwny.com will see continued enhancements as well, according to Johnson.
Chautauqua County is the first in the state and seventeenth in the country to participate in “Dream It, Do It,” which is part of a national campaign started by the National Association of Manufacturers to address the growing shortage of talented and skilled workers in the manufacturing industry.
“Dream It Do It” is an initiative of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier and the Manufacturing Technology Institute at JCC. For more information, contact David Johnson at (716) 490-0063 or via email at djohnson@chautauquachamber.org.
JUST THE FACTS…
Kenneth Adams, President and CEO The Business Council of New York State, Inc. recently announced that New York has lost 195,000 private sector jobs in the last year.
Adams stated, “The New York State Department of Labor reported that New York lost 2,500 private-sector jobs last November. This marked 14 of the past 15 months where the private sector job count declined.”
To reverse this trend in 2010, Adams said that Albany leaders must ease the tax burden on our economy and let employers create new jobs. “The private sector is suffocating under the crushing burden of taxes and a political climate that is hostile to job-creation. The Empire State has become the empire of unemployment.”
Continuing a pattern that has held since the beginning of this downturn, only the taxpayer-supported educational and health services sectors saw an increase in jobs of 2.5 percent for the year.
“To create new jobs and economic opportunity for all New Yorkers, government leaders must commit to lowering spending and easing the tax burden as they work to balance the budget,” concluded Adams.