The Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Development  Consortium’s Business Services Department will be taking part in the 2019 Business and Education Forum: Pathways to Success on Wednesday, May 29th and Thursday, May 30th, 2019 in Albany. Presented by the Business Council of New York State, Inc., the annual forum brings together business leaders, educators, policy makers and other partners to discuss ways in which partnerships and pathways programs help students be better prepared for careers and civic life.

The Consortium’s Director of Business Services, Christina Lopez, will join NYS Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon and other Career Pathways Panelists on Thursday morning to highlight how Business Services helps drive growth in our local economy through value-added assistance programs. Specifically, the Consortium uses Dislocated Worker Trade and Economic Transition grants and CFA Funds to target both adult and dislocated workers through its Pathways to Success platform.

“Workforce development, worker training and Pathways programs are an essential way to getting potential workers the skills they need to succeed in today’s workplace. In addition, workers who have experienced a recent layoff, plant closing or other sudden loss of employment may need some skill upgrades before re-entering the workforce, and the Workforce Investment Board and Consortium provide that,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “In Erie County we are moving forward with programs that get people working, matching them to employers that are looking for workers with their skill set, and improving our economy through this process. I thank Ms. Lopez for attending the forum and furthering the message of the good work being done here.”

The growing success of the local workforce system is achieved through ongoing collaborations with the New York Business Association, Workforce Development Institute, NYS Department of Labor, Erie 1 BOCES, Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance, Construction Exchange Western New York, Visit Buffalo Niagara and businesses across Erie County.

For more information:

On the Workforce Development Consortium, visit https://workforcebuffalo.org/

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