Wells, the ice cream maker, formerly known as Dunkirk Ice Cream, told the newspapers recently that Wells almost did not commit to its current $425,000,000 investment in Dunkirk due to a concern over a lack of labor force here. Wells anticipates needing 270 more workers because of its expansion.

In the past 15 years Chautauqua County’s labor force (those working or looking for work) shrunk from about 68,000 to about 54,000, down by 14,000, a shocking 20%.

What are the possible explanations for this collapse of our labor force?

First, when companies like Truck Lite left Falconer and Carriage House left Fredonia, for example, almost 1,000 jobs disappeared from our County. Many of those workers followed their employers to other locations across the country. When a spouse, partner or adult children also leaves the county with the displaced worker, the County’s Labor Force is reduced by 2, 3 or more people, not just by the displaced worker.

Second, displaced and discouraged workers who are nearing 62 might hire a lawyer and seek a disability retirement or they may take early Social Security at 62. In either case they are no longer in the Labor Force

Third, the decline in the County’s population since 2000 has disproportionately been among working age adults. When a working age family leaves Chautauqua County in search of a brighter future elsewhere, their children go with them. This population loss of young families reveals itself dramatically in the huge decline in the number of students in our 18 school districts. With fewer high school graduates, the County has fewer young people entering our Labor Force each year.

What can be done to increase the number of trained workers in our County?

For decades, Job Corps in Cassadaga has prepared young people for jobs in many fields including the electrical and plumbing trades.

With the Federal Government in Washington threatening to shut down the Job Corps location in Cassadaga, the Chautauqua County Legislature, in a unanimous, bipartisan vote, asked Congressman Langworthy and President Trump to continue funding Job Corps, to protect over 100 jobs there and to protect this vital job training resource for our economic development efforts.

For over 100 years, Jamestown Business College (JBC) prepared thousands of students for good jobs in the Greater Jamestown area. Many of those students graduated from JBC with skills needed by the growing service industries, such as health care. Sadly, JBC is now history.

The burden of making up for these losses falls in large part upon Jamestown Community College (JCC).

As is the case with community colleges in many states, JCC has long had as a part of its mission, preparing workers for the specific needs of local business and industry, both existing as well as new to the County.

24 years ago, then County Executive Mark Thomas and the County Legislature saw the wisdom of investing $900,000 of County dollars into converting a former bowling alley building into the JCC Manufacturing Technology Institute.

Unfortunately, in recent years neither the County nor its Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency have budgeted any dollars to support job training at JCC.

This neglect of funding for the job training mission of JCC is in stark contrast to the County government’s financial support of JCC’s job training work a quarter century ago.

In 1998, for example, the County Legislature appropriated $150,000 to pay for one-half the cost of job training for MRC Bearings and other industries in Chautauqua County. The County government of that era saw itself as a partner with existing as well as newly arrived businesses to meet their job training needs.

That $150,000 in 1998 would be $300,000 today.

Chautauqua County government has a $300,000,000 budget. Appropriating $300,000 towards helping JCC partner with local industry to train our work force would be only 1/10th of 1% of the County budget. The County should commit to supporting job training through JCC on a long-term basis.

When a Wells or a Cummins is willing to invest $400 million or more in their Chautauqua County facilities and to add 200 or more jobs to our community, shouldn’t County Government stand ready to partner with those industries to train workers to help make those businesses thrive here?

The State University of New York at Fredonia, despite the best of intentions, has struggled for years to make itself relevant to the economic development needs of County businesses and industry. SUNY Fredonia has a proud history of training schoolteachers and having a top-notch music program. That proud history does not translate easily to the College playing a significant role in Chautauqua County’s economic development efforts.

In 2025, however, with both SUNY Fredonia and JCC struggling financially, this would be an ideal time for both State educational institutions to form a true partnership to train workers to meet the needs of current businesses and newly arrived businesses in Chautauqua County.

In my years as City Court Judge, I saw hundreds of young people who dropped out of high school at 16 and who, at 18, 19 or 20, had no job skills. Since 1948 BOCES in New York State has existed to serve public school districts and their students. Couldn’t New York State use BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) to help these young people get a GED (General Educational Development test) and/ or job training even though they are not enrolled in a public school?

Lastly, for those who see help wanted signs almost everywhere and who, therefore, doubt Chautauqua County can meet the labor force needs of expanding or new businesses, it is only a very few years ago we had a Labor Force of 68,000 instead of our current 51,000.

In America, labor is mobile. Younger people are perfectly willing to move, including to Chautauqua County, to obtain good family-sustaining jobs. If Chautauqua County reverses its history of job losses since 2010, our Labor Force would begin to grow again, as well.

Fred Larson is a graduate of Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; Yale Law School; served as an adjunct faculty member at SUNY Fredonia from 2007-2014; is a former Chautauqua County Attorney and retired Jamestown City Court Judge.