SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — During her most recent stop in Syracuse, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $1 million dollars for the Syracuse Build Pathways to Apprenticeship program, a collaboration of the Central and Northern New York Building Trades Council.
Syracuse Build was established in 2018 to provide a new workforce development program and ensure the community is prepared for the I-81 project.
Now, Syracuse Build is also helping prepare contractors and businesses for Micron Technology’s $100B mega computer chip fab in the town of Clay.
“Syracuse Build is a part of the process to be able to make sure that we have folks that live in our local community that are skilled and qualified for all of the opportunities on the backend, but it goes well beyond that to making sure that we’re helping fill construction-related positions that exist with Micron and outside of Micron.”
CHRISTOPHER MONTGOMERY, DIRECTOR OF SYRACUSE BUILD
The million dollars in state funding will help Syracuse Build enhance its already strong training program, but the main goal is to expand cohorts to meet the demand.
The Pathways to Apprenticeship program is an 11-week, paid comprehensive readiness training program focused on preparing individuals to gain access to the Building Trades’ registered apprenticeship programs.
“We’ve been doing good work, but we need money,” Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens said. “Everybody is recognizing the great work we do, but we need finances to scale up programs. We have to get more cohorts, possibly bigger cohorts in order to get more people trained.”
Another priority for Syracuse Build is to create a pathway for anyone who wants to pursue a career in construction, specifically targeting underserved and underrepresented communities.
CNY Works, Onondaga County’s workforce board and career center, works hand-in-hand with Syracuse Build.
“My purpose, my goal would be really to make sure that individuals in disadvantaged populations and backgrounds do participate in these trainings because this will solidify their skills and their training, not only for Micron, but for the industries that come in the future.”
ROSEMARY AVILA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CNY WORKS
