MCC's Economic and Workforce Development: Spring 2017 Newsletter

MCC’s economic and workforce development division works closely with numerous local businesses, education partners, industry associations, and community based organizations to anticipate workforce needs and provide education programs which address those needs. However, sometimes, seeking collaborative partners is a matter of focusing internally. Through cross-divisional collaboration between the career services office, part of the student services division, and career technical education, part of the economic and workforce development division, the College has been able to place a greater focus on work experiences and job placement opportunities for career technical education students. As a result of collaboration, last year, 736 connections were made between career technical education students and local employers. The hope is to continue to grow this program and expand the ability to connect students to employment opportunities in the community. This is a win-win situation – students get jobs and valuable work experience, and employers gain direct access to qualified workers. Work experience and job placement for career technical education students.

Finger Lakes Regional Workforce Development Center at Eastman Business Park.

MCC has been awarded nearly $12 million in state funds to establish the Finger Lakes Regional Workforce Development Center at Eastman Business Park. The Center represents one of three Rochester-based anti-poverty projects to receive state funding. The investments complement Finger Lakes Forward, the region’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative blueprint aimed at growing the economy. The Center ( www.workforceforward.com/Produce21stCenturyWorkers ) is an outgrowth of key efforts by the MCC economic and workforce development division over the past five years and is one aspect of a larger vision to better support the community’s workforce, employers’ needs and our regional economy. The vision for the center includes creating flexible spaces that support a variety of programs and allow for quick modification of programming, credit and noncredit, to match the skills the College has measured as being most in demand within the region. Once operational, in the first five years the Center is expected to train an estimated 2,300 workers and add more than approximately $40 million in economic benefits to the region in the form of worker salaries and increased supply chain value.

Economic and Workforce Development Center MCC Downtown Campus, 321 State Street, 7th Floor Rochester, NY 14608 │ vp-ediws@monroecc.edu