Written by: Steve Melito, Industry Blog Writer for FuzeHub
The City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership have announced a paid-internship program that will connect area manufacturers with local high school and college students who are interested in engineering and advanced manufacturing careers. The six-week program is part of larger, regional and national efforts to train the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.
Today, many Buffalo-area employers are unable to find qualified candidates for advanced manufacturing positions. By 2020, regional employers will need to fill an estimated 17,000 advanced manufacturing jobs. In addition to engineers and supervisors, local companies will need to hire welders, CNC machine operators, and industrial mechanics.
Buffalo’s paid-internship program is the product of local, state, and national efforts as well as public-private sector partnerships. Local manufacturers like TMP Technologies, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and the New York Department of Labor are teaming with Dream It Do It WNY, the Western New York chapter of a successful national program that teaches students about manufacturing skills and opportunities.
Just in the last year, Dream It Do WNY has connected 31 local manufacturers with 22 area high schools and 10 middle schools. According to the Buffalo Business Journal, some 6,400 middle school and high school students learned about advanced manufacturing careers. As the Buffalo region seeks to maximize $4.4 billion in new economic development, a summer internship could help tomorrow’s workforce cash-in.
View original story: Finding the Next Generation of Manufacturing Workers