ONONDAGA, N.Y. — The most recent Syracuse Surge workforce programming included 34 participants in three programs.
Syracuse Surge is the city’s “strategy for inclusive growth in the new economy, which strives to ignite economic growth and neighborhood transformation in Syracuse and Central New York,” as described in a CenterState CEO announcement.
CenterState CEO and its partners at Onondaga Community College (OCC), OCM BOCES, and SUNY Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) honored the 34 graduates during a ceremony held at OCC on Dec. 15.
Candidates graduated from programs that included Surge Advanced Manufacturing (SAM), hosted by SUNY EOC; Surge Defense, also hosted by SUNY EOC; or Electrical Mechanical Technician (ELM), hosted by Onondaga Community College (OCC) and OCM BOCES (Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services).
About the programs
SAM and ELM are both multi-week, paid programs providing entry and mid-skill training for advanced manufacturing, CenterState CEO said. Surge Defense is a paid, 13-week program that prepares people for careers in clean, high-tech assembly jobs in government-contracting facilities.
As CenterState CEO describes it, these advanced-manufacturing industry partnerships bring together community organizations such as the Syracuse Community Center Collaborative, training providers, and employers to create workforce-development initiatives “designed to ensure people gain the skills employers want and move into jobs quickly, while candidates receive the needed support to be successful,” per a news release.
“By having these three programs run concurrently, there is an accessible entry point for anyone who wants to grow their skills and explore a career in Central New York’s advanced manufacturing industry,” Aimee Durfee, CenterState CEO’s VP of workforce innovation, said. “The success of these programs is a guide for future workforce development initiatives that will be essential in ensuring employers have the talent they need, and that all community members can be a part of the region’s exciting growth.”
Candidates started the morning interviewing with regional employers, including Anoplate; TTM Technologies; Critical Path Integrators; Bluefors; United Radio; Belden/PPC; and LOTTE Biologics. Many of the candidates from the Surge Defense program received conditional offers from the program’s employer-collaborator Lockheed Martin Corp., CenterState CEO said.