New York State Department of Labor
Profiles of Promising Practices
BUILDING TRADES TASK FORCE
Workforce Investment Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties
October 2001 - Present

Purpose

• To sustain a skilled building trades feeder program in the short-term; to increase interest in the skilled trades while simultaneously developing a better feeder system for all skilled trades in the area over the long-term.

How It Works

• The short-term goal of the Building Trades Task Force was formed to sustain a major industry-feeding program at the Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), which was facing a dramatic enrollment decline.
  • The Task Force alerted One-Stop partners and implemented an aggressive marketing campaign with schools and community organizations.
• In order to reach the long-term goal of increasing interest in the skilled trades, the Task Force concentrates on the following:
  • Enhancing the image of the trades through a Public Relations campaign to the community and providing more information to High School students and their guidance counselors.
  • Initiating a “hire-first” on the job experience with local firms.
  • Directing individuals who do not qualify for an apprenticeship to the MVCC program.
  • Improving articulation between the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and the MVCC programs.
  • Recruiting Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) youth via the local Department of Social Services.

Results

• The effort produced the number of students needed to sustain the MVCC Feeder Program.
• The initial effort increased the visibility of the WIB among construction employers and the community in general.
• 55 students were recruited over the course of two semesters.
• Since the inception of the initiative, partners in the task force have increased from 10 to 22 representatives.

How They Did It

• Through its skills gap assessment, the Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) recognized that the construction trades were desperate for skilled labor.
• The LWIB facilitated the initiative with input and support from Oneida County Workforce Development, Oneida County Department of Social Services, the Utica School System, MVCC, labor unions, and local construction employers.

Start-Up Costs

• The Building Trades Task Force has received financial support from all 22 partners involved.
• The WIB, Oneida County Workforce Development, Oneida County Department of Social Services, Mohawk Valley Community College, and Herkimer County BOCES designated staff to be the lead on this effort.
• Employers have invested money and materials in the program.
• Mohawk Valley Community College has donated much of the staff time.

Funding

• Student funding streams such as Pell Grants, Tuition Assistance Program, and Individual Training Accounts are being used, depending on eligibility.
• The Utica City School District will use funds through its Millennium Project as part of the long-range effort of introducing students to these careers.
• The WIB is planning to use State grant funding in the future.

Lessons Learned

• Be sure to get all of the partners involved from the start.
• Private sector partners started the initiative by expressing their needs.
• Outreach into the community was very important in order to determine what issues the employers and job seekers were facing.