During her recent State of the State announcement, Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled her proposal for the One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP).
Through the ON-RAMP program, Empire State Development will make strategic workforce investments across the Thruway to better enable communities to recruit, train and place individuals from underrepresented communities into high tech manufacturing jobs, with a flagship location in Syracuse, according to Eleanor Hanna, CenterState CEO’s senior vice president of marketing and communications.
The governor’s proposal builds on the work CenterState CEO’s been doing to help all members of the Central New York community access the advanced manufacturing careers that exist in the region. CenterState CEO will lead the planning and design of the ON-RAMP hub in Upstate New York.
This proposal is informed, in part, by the work CenterState CEO’s been doing with NYS Empire State Development on the federal tech hubs program, Syracuse Surge and Syracuse Build initiatives and the Future Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium.
“This is yet another exciting opportunity to work with our Upstate neighbors. By working together, we are expanding success past a singular region and establishing Upstate New York as a super region growing the advanced manufacturing industry in New York,” Hanna added. “We thank Gov. Kathy Hochul for her continued partnership and vision.”
The governor organized ON-RAMP to create workforce development centers in four high-impact locations across Upstate New York.
This builds on the governor’s commitment to preparing New Yorkers for the jobs of tomorrow with several proposals to strengthen workforce development across New York state. ON-RAMP offers credentials and training related to advanced manufacturing and focuses on providing opportunities for disadvantaged populations.
The program will focus on regions in Upstate New York, along the I-90 corridor from the Buffalo-Syracuse-Rochester tech hub to Albany, modeled after Buffalo’s Northland Workforce Training Center.
ON-RAMP will catalyze partnerships between employers, educational institutions, community organizations, and State and local governments. Each center will build the skills of the local labor pool, connect employers with the skilled workers they need, and develop long-lasting economic on-ramps to training, apprenticeships, and employment for disadvantaged populations.