SUNY, NYSDOL launch campaign to attract companies to apprenticeship program to help state reopen

ORISKANY, N.Y. — SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras on Wednesday launched a campaign urging New York employers to sign up for apprenticeship programs at SUNY.

By pairing New York state businesses of all sizes with participating SUNY colleges, the program fuses paid, on-the-job training with traditional educational instruction, helping companies attract, train, retain, and promote employees.

The announcement comes as “New York State’s economic reopening accelerates and demand for highly skilled workers surges,” SUNY said in a release.

Malatras and Roberta Reardon — commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) — announced the campaign in a stop at Fiber Instrument Sales (FIS) in Oriskany.

FIS CEO Frank Giotto and Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) President Randall VanWagoner also participated.

FIS, which is described as a “major manufacturer and distributor of communication fiber optics,” participates in apprenticeship programs at SUNY. MVCC also provides related educational instruction.

FIS is one of seven Giotto Enterprises affiliates that recently implemented a registered apprenticeship program. MVCC is SUNY’s lead institution on advanced-manufacturing apprenticeships, whiles SUNY Schenectady serves as the lead on health care.

“Apprenticeship programs at SUNY are poised to be a pivotal tool for both employers seeking highly-skilled workers, and people looking to reimagine their careers, expand their skillset, and forge a new path forward as New York comes out of the pandemic,” Malatras said. “We have more than 100 New York State businesses already signed on and hundreds of pre-apprentices waiting in the wings for full-time jobs.”

About the campaign

Since the program’s 2017 inception, 28 SUNY institutions have provided educational support to 385 apprentices working in full-time, paid positions. SUNY has also trained hundreds of pre-apprentices who are ready to continue their training as apprentices in paid, full-time positions.

Throughout the pandemic, SUNY has provided educational support to 124 apprentices and 22 pre-apprentices.

SUNY cites NYSDOL data that indicates salaries for experienced apprentices range between $50,000 and $100,000.

More than 100 employers are already participating — companies work directly with SUNY and NYSDOL to establish registered-apprenticeship programs. This “formalizes a framework” for the on-the-job training. SUNY then provides related instruction through a mix of credit and non-credit courses.

Tuition is waived up to $5,000 per person for both apprentices and pre-apprentices due to $17 million in funding from the NYSDOL and the U.S. Department of Labor.  

The campaign coincides with NYSDOL resuming and ramping up in-person outreach designed to raise awareness about the benefits of registered apprenticeships, particularly among employers in the advanced manufacturing, health care, and information technology sectors — three central focus areas of apprenticeship programs at SUNY. And SUNY will be working with associations — including DeWitt–based MACNY, The Manufacturers Association — to reach out to companies directly.

Companies with apprentices report “higher productivity and worker satisfaction, less turnover, and substantial return on investment,” SUNY contends.