Monroe Community College Tackles Skills Gap

Posted by & filed under CGR Staff, Rochester Business Journal.

Kent GardnerWorkers cast adrift by technology. Last week we learned that the economy added 236,000 jobs in February. Better than a sharp stick in the eye, to be sure. But it still isn’t enough. Average job growth over the past six months has been about 190,000. At this rate, it will take the economy 5 years to absorb the increase in the ranks of the unemployed since 2007, plus new workers entering the labor force. And don’t forget the 8 million working part time who would prefer full time employment, 3.6 million more than in 2007.

How do we square persistently tepid job growth with the other big economic news of the week, that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit new highs? Why can corporate profits be strong while employment growth remains weak? This brief essay will address only one of the many reasons: This recovery has simply left many workers behind. Read more »

“Tell Us What You Need!”— NYS Engages Regions in Economic Development Partnership

Posted by & filed under CGR Staff.

The predicted irrelevance of cities, offered by some as a consequence of the Internet and the falling cost of communication, has been proven to be false. Scholars like Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institute have long recognized and championed the economic significance of regions.

New York State’s Governor Cuomo agrees—since taking office, he’s been working hard to shift the initiative for economic development away from central decision-makers in Albany and NYC to the regions. It is no accident that Bruce Katz has served as an informal Cuomo advisor, the two having worked together when Cuomo was HUD Secretary under Bill Clinton.

Here in the Finger Lakes, the Regional Economic Development Council (FLREDC) is charged with developing and implementing an economic development plan for the region.  A coalition of business, non-profit and government representatives, the FLREDC has been empowered to chart out the region’s strengths and how best to support its growth into the future.  At the state level, many grant programs have been brought together in support of the strategies identified locally and set out in the plan. The Governor has also focused the work of state agencies.  Attending Monday’s FLREDC meeting were regional representatives from a number of NYS departments and agencies (e.g. State, Labor, Agriculture & Markets, and NYS Energy Research & Development Authority), all part of the State Agency Resource Team (SART). Additionally, the state has identified action that it can take to support implementation, including expediting regulatory review of priority projects. In essence, the state has asked the region to “tell us what you need” so that it can support local efforts for job creation and economic growth. While NYS retains significant discretion over uses of state funds, the Cuomo Administration is making a concerted effort to engage regional players in the decision process. Read more »

Cuomo Translates Campaign Poetry to Energetic Prose with Regional Councils

Posted by & filed under CGR Staff, Rochester Business Journal.

Kent GardnerIt was Governor Cuomo’s father, Mario, who famously declared that you “campaign in poetry, but govern in prose.” Part of the poetry of the campaign was the usual rhetoric around job creation—Candidate Cuomo pledged to focus the resources and energy of the State of New York on the economy, particularly Upstate.

The Regional Economic Development Councils is the vehicle by which Governor Cuomo is translating that bit of campaign poetry into energetic prose. The concept comes partly from Cuomo’s tenure at HUD, partly from a similar venture launched by the first Governor Cuomo in the late 1980s. The concept has merit—by appointing key leaders to ten councils across NYS, he is engaging the state’s leadership in a manner that is largely unprecedented. With Lt Governor Bob Duffy as the chair of every council, he has assured both that council members participate and that the state agency representatives show up and provide support.
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