UTICA — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) will lead a regional ON-RAMP center by redeveloping the Science and Technology building at MVCC’s Utica campus. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 6 announced that the state selected Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, and Finger Lakes to advance to the planning stage of the $200 million One Network for […]
UTICA — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) will lead a regional ON-RAMP center by redeveloping the Science and Technology building at MVCC’s Utica campus.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 6 announced that the state selected Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, and Finger Lakes to advance to the planning stage of the $200 million One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) program.
The center will offer training for in-demand skills on low-cost, no-cost, and work-and-learn models; retention strategies to engage marginalized and underserved populations and support completion; and employer integration to facilitate direct job placement. MVCC will lead a consortium of six core organizations with a “proven track record” of workforce innovation.
MVCC’s Free Fast Track program and MACNY’s Real-Life Rosies and Advanced 2 Apprenticeship programs, both successful direct-placement programs, will be housed at the ON-RAMP center and provide additional capacity for these programs to increase enrollment.
“We are so grateful to the governor and her staff for this incredible opportunity to work even more closely with our workforce partners in the region to significantly scale opportunities that connect people to quality jobs and enhance the overall vibrancy of the communities we serve,” Randall VanWagoner, president of MVCC, said in the state’s announcement.
The new facility is “strategically located” near major employers Danfoss, Indium and Wolfspeed; across the street from the city’s high school; and directly adjacent to a “high-diversity” neighborhood, Hochul’s office said.
In addition to MVCC, The Center for Economic Growth (CEG) will lead the Capital Region’s ON-RAMP center, while Monroe Community College will lead the Finger Lakes ON-RAMP center in partnership with RochesterWorks.
The regions join Central New York, in which Syracuse was established as the program’s flagship location. They’ll create a network of “high-impact” workforce-development centers to connect New Yorkers with careers in high-growth, advanced-manufacturing industries.
These workforce centers will equip New Yorkers with the skills they need and create an “on-ramp” to training, internships, apprenticeships and permanent employment and capitalize on the State’s success in attracting and expanding advanced manufacturing companies such as Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) in the Onondaga County town of Clay and GlobalFoundries in the Saratoga County town of Malta in the Capital Region.
“By adding centers in the Capital Region, Mohawk Valley and Finger Lakes to connect with Central New York, the ON-RAMP network will connect New Yorkers to new opportunities all along the upstate semiconductor corridor,” Hope Knight, president, CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development, said in the state’s announcement. “Today’s announcement represents our latest investments in workforce training under Governor Hochul, and supports our continued efforts to reshore manufacturing jobs and build out the advanced manufacturing ecosystem.”
