SYRACUSE – During a daylong gathering of academic, government and industry leaders Monday at Onondaga Community College to address growing workforce demands on New York’s expanding food and beverage manufacturing industry, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced new legislation designed to address the skills gap employers face and help workers get good-paying, high-demand jobs.
The bipartisan “Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015” – outlined at the summit on “Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Food Processing Industry” cosponsored in part by Cornell’s Harvest NY program and the Cornell Cooperative Extension – would create a $5,000 tax credit for employers that use apprenticeship programs to train workers in high-demand professions such as health care, the food and beverage industry, other manufacturing and technology. The bill also would allow veterans in apprenticeships to get credit for previous military training and experience, as well as incentivize mentoring of apprentices by senior employees.
“If we want our businesses to expand, create new jobs and spur growth in our economy, then we must make sure they have access to a well-trained, highly skilled workforce.”Gillibrand said. “This new bipartisan legislation would incentivize employers to provide on-the-job training for workers, connect veterans with jobs that match their skills and military experience and encourage senior employees to mentor and train new employees.”
The food and beverage manufacturing industry plays an important role to the state’s economy. For every job in food manufacturing, 1.91 jobs are created in support of the industry. From 2009 to 2014, food-manufacturing jobs grew 9.8 percent to over 52,000 statewide – four times faster than job growth in the nation as a whole. New research from Cornell also predicts New York will see more than 6 percent growth in the industry over the next five years; all while the the food and beverage manufacturing industry’s workforce is aging close to retirement.
“On behalf of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, I applaud Senator Gillibrand’s co-sponsorship of the Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015,” said Kathryn J. Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Cornell has been supporting New York State food and beverage producers for more than 150 years through innovative outreach and we welcome this initiative as an important means to creating a vital regional economy.”
Gillibrand is a cosponsor of the legislation, S.959, first introduced in April by senators Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). The legislation would:
- Create a $5,000 tax credit based on wages paid by companies who hire
- Targets companies who hire a new, full-time apprentices in high-demand, mechanic or technical, healthcare, or technology professions. The apprentice must be employed for at least 7 months before the credit can be claimed. The tax credit can also be claimed as the apprentice works through the program for a maximum of 3 years.
- Allow veterans to apply their previous training and education hours so their skills are more effectively and more quickly put to use.
- Allow senior employees near retirement to draw from pensions early if they’re involved in mentoring or training new employees. Workers must be at least 55, and have reduced work hours to spend at least 20 percent of their time training or educating employees or students.
“Cornell Cooperative Extension is excited about the opportunities to engage with the Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015 cosponsored by Senator Gillibrand” said Chris Watkins, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension. “We are confident that CCE can contribute further to economic success of New York based on the experience of the Harvest New York program in which we have partnered with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and SUNY campuses to provide educational training opportunities for future employees of New York State’s growing food and beverage manufacturing industry.”
Apprenticeship programs benefit both the employer and the employee; and nine in 10 people who complete apprenticeships are employed, with apprenticeship completers having an average starting wage of more than $50,000 a year and earning on average $240,000 more in lifetime wages than those with similar backgrounds, according to a 2012 study by Mathematica Policy Research. There were 685 registered apprenticeship programs in New York as of the end of Fiscal Year 2014 that provide training to more than 16,000 apprentices across the state in more than 130 fields – ranging from electricians and machinists to counseling aides and school safety agents.
“The secret to successful workforce development is a deep connection between business, education and training providers, and the workforce system. Today’s event is a great example of partnership and leadership on behalf of industry and the workforce field,” said Melinda Mack, executive director of summit cosponsor the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals “We are grateful for the senator’s continued support of education and training, and excited to be part of the momentum to encourage and expand apprenticeship models across the state.”
Monday’s food industry workforce summit was also sponsored by OCC, the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals, and the Workforce Development Institute. Harvest NY is a pilot program of Cornell Cooperative Extension, located in Western New York and expanding to Northern New York, with the assistance and support of the New York State Legislature’s Senate and Assembly Agriculture Committees, Chaired by Sen. Patty Ritchie and Assembly member Bill Magee.
