A pilot program with the University at Buffalo will expand the hands-on, real-world experience approach offered at Broome-Tioga BOCES to five participating BOCES locations. The goal is to train 4,000 young professionals and successfully place 1,300 into secure careers.
A panel discussion to announce the new workforce initiative, dubbed Industry Ready NY, was held at Broome-Tioga BOCES on June 16, featuring representatives from the University at Buffalo, Empire State Development Southern Tier and the participating BOCES partners. During the discussion, panelists talked about how their Future Ready Centers are tailoring classrooms to equip students with the needed skills to enter the workforce confidently and what they are hearing from employers.
Industry Ready NY will change how schools approach workforce development. The $5 million grant will move young professionals from just “butts in seats” to life-changing careers with long-term benefits, said Matt Sheehan, director for the Center for Career and Technical Excellence at Broome-Tioga BOCES. The Binghamton career development center, Sheehan said, holds the blueprint. Over the last seven years, it has grown from 40 job placements to 200.
This program will create an interconnected network between Broome-Tioga BOCES and Erie 1 BOCES, Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES, Champlain Valley Educational Services and Ulster BOCES. The hope is to expand the initiative across the state. Within the participating BOCES facilities, Industry Ready NY spans across 76 school districts and 15 upstate counties.
What will Industry Ready NY program do?
“If every one of the BOCES in New York state was able to take whatever they currently place and quadruple it, we wouldn’t be talking about workforce skills gaps in New York state, we’d be talking about how is New York state doing what they’re doing,” Sheehan said after the June 16 panel discussion.
The idea for Industry Ready NY came up roughly two years ago for the University at Buffalo. Broome-Tioga BOCES had been considering it for a few years prior to that.
University at Buffalo started to examine the data and talk to different industries to gather the needed information to apply for a grant to launch Industry Ready NY.
When Sheehan was able to get Empire State Development to view the work they were doing as “adult workforce training,” he knew they were on to something that could create new possibilities.
As the saying goes, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know — a harsh reality young professionals are struggling to cope with even with diplomas and valuable skills. But at Broome-Tioga BOCES, Sheehan said, “We’re not afraid to share who we know.”
One of Broome-Tioga BOCES’ industry partners, Servpro, hired four student interns in 2026 from the carpentry program. Those students walked away with essential skills like customer service, workplace safety and communication that can be taken to any role.
Regional Office Director Omar Snaders from Empire State Development Southern Tier shared how New York has invested in workforce development since the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of addressing the underlying cause of underemployment and unemployment.
“Our solution is not just in working hard but working together, and we can create life-changing opportunities when we collaborate,” he said. “These opportunities happen because we each recognize that while talent is universal, access is not.”
The income difference between students who went through a vocational program versus a student entering the workforce without a clear understanding of their skills and interest is drastically different — roughly $200,000 according to the data collected by the University at Buffalo. While preparing for the grant application, the school surveyed 14 industry partners to ensure they had the support and available placement to pull this off. Over 160 paid internships and over 150 jobs were verified through industry partners.
The first year of the program will be spent entering junior cohorts into the database and reviewing credentials while members from Broome-Tioga BOCES travel to participating locations across the state to document progress to create a guide to share across the network. By the spring, the plan is to have a meeting with all five BOCES locations and government representatives to share what they are doing and hopefully gain more state-level support to expand.
Sheehan said the outdated Department of Labor policies don’t reflect the current work environment.
“This grant reflects more than an investment in the future of the workforce, but it also showcases how New York State is adjusting policies to support technical education.”
Kalyn Grant reports on public service issues for the Press & Sun-Bulletin, focusing on schools and community impact. Have a story to share? Follow her on Instagram @KalynCarmen and on Facebook under Kalyn Kearney. Get in touch at KCGrant@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Pilot program uses local BOCES model to strengthen workforce pipeline
Reporting by Kalyn Grant, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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By Kalyn Grant, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin | USA TODAY Network
