The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Apprenticeships and data analytics
Leaders recognize apprenticeships as win-win partnerships that can help build a highly skilled, productive workforce.
When you hear the word apprenticeship, you probably think about hands-on training in skilled trades like plumbers, electricians or carpenters. It’s a time-honored, proven strategy for workforce development.
What you may not know is that additional industries and enterprises across the Mohawk Valley now are embracing the apprenticeship model to prepare our community’s next generation workforce. Leaders in fields ranging from data science to health care and from community service to agribusiness recognize apprenticeships as winwin partnerships that can help build a highly skilled, productive workforce while offering pathways to challenging, stable careers that pay good wages.
Volunteers for The Genesis Group last month learned about this expanded approach to career development through nextgeneration apprenticeships available today in our area. More about this win-win approach in a moment, but first some additional background is in order.
An apprenticeship is a type of career preparation combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction. People can work as an apprentice in highly skilled jobs found in a variety of fields, including manufacturing, health care, hospitality and information technology. Mohawk Valley employers in these enterprises are implementing apprenticeship programs and finding newways to train and invest in their workforce.
Program length varies by occupation, ranging from one to four years. Apprenticeships typically include a minimum of 144 hours per year of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours annually of on-the-job training. This combination of training creates a highly skilled workforce tailored to the rapidly evolving needs of our growing economy.
Apprentices receive salaries, earn industry-recognized credentials, and are awarded a certificate of completion. Aworker who has completed an apprenticeship generally has higher earnings than one who has not.
Apprenticeships can be a key part of that transformational strategy and Mohawk Valley Community College has recently been designated as the lead academic institution and recipient. of the State University of New York Apprenticeship Program.
Through this program, funds are available to pay for classroom training for New York State Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeships at any SUNY Community College across the state. As MVCC’s associate vice president of workforce development, I’m proud that our region’s employers are embracing the apprenticeship strategy to grow, modernize, and further professionalize their workforces.
At a Nov.14 meeting sponsored by the Genesis Group, I was pleased to report MVCC nowcan offer apprenticeships in Information-Age careers such as software developer, data analyst, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Our future is dependent on building and retaining the right workforce to meet the needs of our region’s new and future economy. In addition to traditional degree programs and internships, we now have one more tool in the tool belt to accomplish that.
Over the last 15 months, Genesis Group volunteers have partnered with leading industries and enterprises in the Mohawk Valley to build a Data Analytics Task Force. The group sees data science-related practitioners – who help businesses and industries make informed decisions based on the gathering and analysis of large volumes of data – as critical in advancing existing development, stimulating entrepreneurial initiatives and enhancing community wellness in our regional community.
Franca Armstrong is associate vice president of workforce development and dean of Mohawk Valley Community College’s Rome Campus and co-chair of the Genesis Group’s Data Analytics Task Force. To learn more: Apprenticeships: Students and employers interested in learning more about the SUNY Apprenticeship program may contact: James Willey – Jwilley@mvcc. edu or 315-792-5538.
Data project: The Mohawk Valley Data Analytics project takes its inspiration from the founder of The Genesis Group, the late Joseph R. Carucci, whose vision was to promote and sustain a shared sense of purpose in imagining and fostering a bright future for the Mohawk Valley. We see this work as an important next step in fulfilling that mission. To learn more go to: www.thegenesisgroup.org