Senator Kennedy Highlights Nearly $860,000 for Job Training Coming to Erie County

Erie County Set to Receive Total of $857,996 from NY State for Jobs Training Programs.

Kennedy Says State’s Investment Will Train Hundreds of Job Candidates for Positions Employers Need to Fill Today.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senator Tim Kennedy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Economic Development Committee, touted the state’s substantial investment in job-training programs throughout Erie County as a key signal that New York State is focused on gearing Western New Yorkers with the skills they need to secure good-paying jobs. Kennedy outlined the nearly $860,000 in state funding that will be directed to various job-readiness initiatives in Erie County through Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils initiative.

Twelve applicants, based in Erie County, were awarded state grants to provide a wide range of training programs to Erie County residents. Kennedy applauded Governor Cuomo for his focus on preparing job-seekers for opportunities available right now in Western New York.

“This state investment, totaling nearly $860,000, will help change lives for people throughout the area,” said Senator Kennedy. “We’ve been vocal in our fight for additional resources to help gear Western New Yorkers with the right tools to secure good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, and the state has responded by directing these new funds to Erie County.

“Governor Cuomo’s support of job training will make sure Western New Yorkers are ready for the key sectors of Buffalo’s new economy,” Kennedy added. “These jobs will range from medical coders trained for employment at the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus by the Buffalo Arts & Technology Center to dental clinical technicians trained by Evolution Dental Science in Cheektowaga to advanced welders trained by the City of Buffalo School District. Western New Yorkers searching for high-wage, fulfilling careers will be linked up with groups that can give them the skills they need to make it on their own.

State-funded programs will train workers in medical fields, advanced manufacturing skills, family development and welding. Kennedy has long-championed programs and initiatives to train and prepare workers for jobs in key economic growth sectors. Last year, Kennedy proposed a bill to establish “Centers of Workforce Achievement” to close the skills gap and help local workers fill the approximately 1,000 manufacturing jobs that go unfilled in Western New York each month. A similar program to establish a Workforce Advancement Center in Buffalo was ultimately proposed by Governor Cuomo and passed into law by the Legislature.

Senator Kennedy broke down the numbers for the state’s total investment of $857,996 for job training in Erie County. The following local groups will be receiving funds through the Regional Economic Development Council:

• Buffalo Arts & Technology Center received $100,000 to train 36 long-term unemployed workers in various professions, in conjunction with the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
• The Buffalo Urban League received two $100,000 grants for job training in manufacturing fields.
• Erie 1 BOCES received $100,000 to train 36 long-term unemployed workers in advanced manufacturing fields.
• Everywoman Opportunity Center received $93,355 for Project Fresh Start, a jobs skills development program for survivors of domestic violence in Buffalo and Erie County.
• The City of Buffalo Board of Education received $90,000 to train 25 long-term unemployed workers in advanced welding.
• Erie Community College received $88,800 to train 20 long-term unemployed workers as industrial mechanical technicians.
• Evolution Dental Science received $51,600 to train 20 workers in the planning, design, milling and manufacture of dental products.
• The Community Action Organization of Erie County received $40,050 to provide on-the-job training for 25 workers in family development, mandated reporting, financial social work, computers, and school-aged child care.
• Buffalo Wire Works Company received $15,164 to train 27 workers in lean manufacturing.
• Baker Victory Services received $10,450 to train 49 workers in lean manufacturing.
• K-Technologies, Inc was awarded $55,577 to train 32 workers in lean and advanced manufacturing.
• Rolite Mfg, Inc received three grants totaling $13,000 for production machine operation training.

Senator Kennedy also noted that the state awarded new funding to other job-training initiatives in areas of Western New York outside of Erie County.

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Senator Timothy M. Kennedy represents the New York State Senate’s 63rd District, which is comprised of the towns of Cheektowaga, the city of Lackawanna and nearly all of the city of Buffalo. More information is available at http://kennedy.nysenate.gov.