Gov. Andrew Cuomo has unveiled 2018 State of the State proposal to strengthen the workforce aimed
at preparing New Yorkers for future jobs. He has already earmarked a whopping $175million for the
project.
Cuomo has already created an Office of Workforce Development to oversee state’s investment and
execution. It is being headed by a director of workforce development.
One of the goals of the project, according to Gov. Cuomo, is to launch a one-stop shop to help workers
and businesses navigate workforce development programs.
The Governor said the project will enforce strong accountability standards for program performance
and employ state-of- the-art data analytics to strategically target local workforce needs across the
Empire State.
“Our comprehensive economic development strategy helped spur growth and job creation across this
state. But rapidly advancing technology and global competition demands that we prepare New Yorkers
for the economy of tomorrow,” said Gov. Cuomo.
“While we have made great strides, we must expand and overhaul our workforce training programs
now in order to equip our workers with the necessary skills to succeed in the future,” he added.
On the average, according to the Governor, there will be nearly 362,000 job openings each year in
New York over the next 10 years. He said many of those jobs will require a college degree.
He added that with the Excelsior Scholarship, New York became the first state in the nation to make
free college a reality- because by 2024, nearly 2.5 million jobs in New York State will require an
associate’s degree or higher, which is roughly 420,000 more jobs than in 2014.
By J. Zamgba Browne
Chief Correspondent
