The Manufacturers Alliance of New York, Inc. recently marked National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), a nationwide celebration that provides businesses, communities and educators with the opportunity to showcase their apprenticeship programs. National Apprenticeship Week was Nov. 11-17.

The Manufacturers Alliance of New York has partners in seven regions of the state that are engaged in the New York State Manufacturers Intermediary Apprenticeship Program (MIAP). As of September 2019, each affiliate has had a dedicated apprenticeship subject expert to support businesses regionally. Each partner is, or is becoming, a group sponsor on behalf of manufacturers in their region. Furthermore, the expansion of MIAP into Long Island this year has allowed the Alliance to serve an additional 3,500 manufacturers with a predicted 10,000 open positions integral to the state’s economy.

The current reality is that manufacturing companies face the retirement of the baby boomer generation and could lose between 25% and 40% of their workforce over the next few years. Utilizing the New York State Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship program, MIAP is effectively disrupting this trend by finding ways to get more young people, job changers, women and veterans into the manufacturing workforce. The Alliance is committed to promoting innovative, effective career pathways to grow the number of qualified applicants in advanced manufacturing statewide.

“The MIAP apprenticeship program has matured in central New York, under the leadership of MACNY, allowing small to mid-sized companies to take advantage of NYS DOL apprenticeships without having to put into place the infrastructure required to manage such a program. Here in Chautauqua County, we are working to replicate that success using their best practices and lessons learned. As the intermediary, MAST becomes the DOL sponsor for the program, managing all the requisite paperwork and assisting with curricula development and execution as well as organizing each apprentice’s outside coursework. MAIP is a great opportunity to develop the technical skills local manufacturers need to compete in today’s economic environment. Apprenticeship programs are also a great tool for employee retention, providing a pathway to advancement in an organization while maximizing employee buy-in,” said MAST Executive Director Todd Tranum.

Randy Wolken, president of the Manufacturers Alliance of New York, said, “MIAP is targeted at raising the skill levels of both incumbent and entry level manufacturing workers to create distinctive career pathways, while filling a crucial need within the industry. The successful pilot of the apprenticeship program in Central New York in 2016 created a statewide need to expand and support registered apprenticeships in high demand sectors throughout our state.”

MIAP also has begun to identify cluster industries to better support all businesses, such as the creation of registered apprenticeships in the film industry, food and beverage industry, computer gaming industry, energy sector, childcare industry, and most recently, apprenticeships that support persons with disabilities; aligning with the governor’s Employment First policy.

The Manufacturers Alliance consists of seven associations and represents more than 5,400 manufacturers.