On February 26, 2016, the Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce Development Board gathered a room full of leaders from local manufacturers before a panel of people charged in one way or another with workforce development and/or employee training.

Specifically, panel members were Joseph Yelich, superintendent of the Oneonta City School District; Glenda Roberts, Director of Career and Business Development for SUNY Delhi; Audrey Beckenstein from the Norwich campus of the Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES; and Dawn Rivers, Director of the Otsego Now Regional Workforce Training Center.

Such a set up might lead one to expect that the meeting was organized to give employers an opportunity to pelt the workforce development professionals with questions but, in fact, the purpose of the gathering was the exact opposite. Each member of the panel took a few moments to describe what sort of training they provide to whom, and what issues they might be facing with the work they do.

But the meeting, which was facilitated by Barbara Ann Heegan (President of the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce), was actually an opportunity for the local training community to learn about the workforce needs of some of the area’s major employers. And the employers had quite a lot to say.

The list of skills that our local manufacturers are looking for turned out to be something of a mix. Of course, “soft skills” remained important – it can be inordinately difficult to work with people who don’t have them – but so, too, are an impressive list of mechanical and technical skills.

When asked to identify sought-after skills, leaders listed blueprint reading, computer assisted design (CAD), soldering, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry, welding, industrial measurement and others. The business representatives often stated that they were looking for industry certifications rather than either 2-year or 4-year degrees.

There’s a nationwide shortage of workers with certain skill sets, so it was no surprise to learn that such workers are also in short supply in Chenango, Delaware and Otsego Counties. Truckers and diesel mechanics, machinists and machine tool operators are becoming increasingly difficult to come by. The rapid march of technology is making those deficits problematic for workforce training professionals, too. Should we train people to maintain and operate equipment that is rapidly becoming obsolete, or should we train prospective workers on the most advanced equipment available even if that’s not the equipment that our local manufacturers currently use?

As is often the case at meetings like this, a certain amount of the conversation concerned how businesses and schools might forge closer ties and more frequent communications. The participants all agreed that teachers, guidance counsellors and parents all need to be kept up to date on labor market trends and skill demand in the region. At the same time, it is important for the business community to actively engage with the education and training community, in the form of factory tours, classroom speaking engagements and presentations, apprenticeships and internships, and other efficacious types of contact.

While the meeting did not generate a list of concrete “next steps” to pursue, Otsego Now will move the effort forward by organizing informational sessions for local school guidance counselors, teachers and superintendents with representatives from the NYS Department of Labor. The DOL representatives will update the schools on which occupations are in demand, what education or training is needed for those occupations and what their average annual salaries are, for the region within two counties of Chenango-Delaware-Otsego.

In addition, staff from Otsego Now continue to reach out to nearby community colleges to explore partnership possibilities that will better position us to offer training programs tailored to current and future employers. We are excited by the possibilities we see as we work to expand our services to the Otsego County workforce.