Continuing a strong year of advocacy focused on workforce development.
The Partnership is excited to announce the second installment of our signature manufacturing event, the Manufacturing Month Kickoff! This year’s theme is Building a Better Workforce, and is taking place on Thursday, October 6th, 2016.
The Partnership’s Manufacturers Council had its third meeting of the season late last month as member manufacturers gathered to discuss private sector best practices in several areas of workforce development – recruitment, advancement, and apprenticeships. The main feature of the meeting was a panel discussion with three Council members, offering accounts of successful practices at their companies:
Why the Partnership and our Manufacturers Council continue to advocate for workers’ comp reform in New York State.
The Partnership has been quite vocal about opposing a $15 minimum wage in New York State, and for good reason. Drastically increasing the minimum wage would make it much more difficult for employers to retain their workforce, which is already a challenge for many key industries in Western New York. In response to the proposed increase, the BNP has joined on as a coalition member of the Minimum Wage Reality Check group.
Scott Pallotta, and his team of about 150 employees at Zehnder Rittling, hosted two exclusive, behind-the-scenes tours last week. The two groups, comprised of Dream It, Do It (DIDI) students and participants in our Manufacturers Council Tour Series, were fascinated by innovate techniques for manufacturing heating and cooling systems.
Workforce development is the top priority of our Manufacturers Council for the 2015-16 season. We have broken the topic down into three main “buckets” – developing baseline skill sets, ensuring upskilling opportunities, and growing the workforce pipeline.
It’s no secret that manufacturers are facing an unprecedented workforce shortage. Due to aging current employees and a lack of qualified candidates entering the workforce, many companies are feeling the pressure of addressing the workforce issue.
The WNY Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) estimates that there will be 17,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in our region by 2020.
Today’s Manufacturer Spotlight: International Paper
Today’s Manufacturer Spotlight: U-C Coatings
