Columbia Greene NY Workforce: Newsletter2, March

If you have questions regarding any of this information or you are interested in any of the state grant opportunities, please call (518) 828-4181 ext. 5510 or email me.

Topics: Training Opportunities :: Workshops/Networking Opportunities :: Awards/Events

On Wednesday, April 21st from 10am-3pm there will be a Job Fair at Columbia Greene Community College. The Job Fair is held prior to college graduation to provide an opportunity for businesses to meet with both college students, soon to be graduates and the general public. If you are interested in attending the event please call now! Over fifty businesses and 350 job seekers attended our Spring 2003 Job Fair and 78% of the business rated the quality of the job seekers as "Good" or "Very Good."

Over 375 training slots completed! Let Columbia Greene Workforce New York assist you with retention and soft skills development.

What participants have said about the program:

"The workshop was a good reminder of all the things I should know, but do not always practice."
"I have been to many workshops and I feel that this is one of the best."

Strong points noted by attendees include training on: work ethic, professional conduct, interaction with co-workers, teamwork and communication skills.

Workshop modules include the following topics:

Having it All-Managing Your Job & Life

Employee Strategies for Creating On-the-Job Success

Communication at Work; Pulling Together-Being Part of Your Work Team

Business is a Service Thing- Excellent Customer Service for both Internal & External Customers

The dates for the next session are May 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th.
Please note that for new employees (not in seasonal positions) who are on the job less than four months there is grant funding that can cover the cost for the entire four-module program. The employee must be earning less than $15.00/hr. and the employer must complete a post-evaluation of their employee's skill gain.
For other employees there is a $50.00 fee per module or $175.00 for the series plus a one time book fee of $10.00.

Greene County Micro enterprise Assistance Program has added a new incentive: forgiveness on 25% of low interest loans up to $25,000. To qualify, the loan must result in either the creation of at least one new job or the business owner's income is in the low-to-moderate income bracket. Eligible businesses must be located in Greene County and must be either new or expanding businesses with five or fewer employees.

Call Karl Heck now at 622-3251!
The incentive will only be in effect for loans processed by September 30, 2004.

Act Now! We only have three business strategic planning grants still available. These grants are for businesses that are interested in the services of a consultant from either MDI or the Center for Economic Growth to complete or update their business plan. Companies must fall into either the "Professional, Scientific & Technical", or "Leisure & Hospitality: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation" industry sectors.

"Improving Your Small Business Sales with Contact Management"
Presenter: Winnovative Technology
Tuesday, April 20th, 2004 8:30 - 10:00am
Place: Chamber of Commerce Office,
507 Warren Street, Hudson
Reservation Deadline: April 16, 2004
Free to Chamber Members

BUSINYS is an effort to support business with the development of their workforce by providing funds for employee training. Training must result in a certification or transferable skill. Apply on line at New York State Department of Labor, Workforce New York website at www.workforcenewyork.com. Grant awards are up to $100,000!!! At this point in time, there is no application deadline and all workers currently on staff are eligible for training.

To date over $20,661,00 has been awarded to 365 New York businesses under the BUSINYS grant!! Congratulations to Taconic Telephone for their BUilding Skills grant award of $99,920! Congratulations to DynaBil Industries, Inc for their BUilding Skills grant award of $80,785!

The two awarded grants will provide training to 200 employees. Three hundred-seventy five training slots were funded covering a wide range of topics including: Lean Manufacturing, Computer Software, Networking, Sales, Human Resource, Customer Service and many more.

Don't wait, apply now! Please call me for assistance with your application.

NEW!!

If you are a manufacturer, have less than 99 employees and would like to improve your process improvement and/or productivity this is the grant for you! Companies will be awarded up to $50,000 to fund an outside vender to provide process improvement efforts. Training may include lean manufacturing principals, Six Sigma and productivity enhancement type trainings. It is required that company's have a management staff member attend one of the NYSDOL sponsored process improvement training or company staff would have had to attend a similar training in the last 12 months before filing the grant application. NYSDOL seminar dates will be listed on their website as they become available.

At this point the grants will be scored on their individual merits, however as the state grant allocation of $8.5 million dollars nears depletion the grants will become competitive. Applications will not be accepted after June 30, 2005. For grant information see http://www.workforcenewyork.com/.

NEW!!

Up to $200,000 will be awarded to businesses with over 100 employees. NOTE: Funds may only be used to train workers directly engaged in the manufacturing process. The deadline for this grant is May 12, 2004. Companies applying for funds must have a strategic business plan that has been completed or updated in the last 12 months. For grant information see http://www.workforcenewyork.com/.

This Management E-learning Pilot Program is funded by the State Labor Department in cooperation with the State Workforce Investment Board and is offered at no cost to qualified businesses.

The program offers more than 450 courses from its Management Library covering a wide variety of topics such as communications skills, team building, conflict resolution, negotiating skills and project planning. Courses provide both pre-and post-tests so increased competencies can be easily assessed. For a listing of courses choose the following link: http://www.workforcenewyork.com/elearning/list6.htm
(Please note if you participate in this project you are not eligible to apply for other NYSDOL grant initiatives.)

E-Grants Unveiled for Organizations interested in federal funding. The following website: www.grants.gov is a single comprehensive site that contains information about finding and applying for all federal grant programs. The Web site now has information about more than 800 available grant programs involving all 26 federal grant-making agencies.The site provides information in a standardized format across the agencies and includes a "Federal Grant Opportunities" feature to help applicants find potential funding opportunities. The site also contains an "Apply for Grants" feature that greatly simplifies the application process by allowing applicants to download, complete, and submit applications for specific grant opportunities from any federal grant-making agency.

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During this Spring members of the Workforce Investment Board will be hosting business focus groups to discuss workforce issues and the challenges facing their business and their particular industry. The focus groups will represent the following industries: Manufacturing, Financial & Business Services, Communications, Human Services, Health Care & Hospitality/Tourism. Information developed from these group discussions will become part of our State of the Workforce report, which will be issued to all local government agencies and will be used by the WIB in determining policy directives.

Do you feel recent high school graduates do not understand employer's expectations? Now is your chance to make a difference! The Workforce Investment Board, Columbia Hudson Partnership, Greene County Economic Development, Columbia County Chamber and the Greene County Chamber are working together to collaborate with area school districts to develop and implement a Youth Employability Certificate. This program will build working partnerships between schools and businesses. Business and community participation will be critical in the success of this effort and in developing our young people into productive employees. Volunteers will be needed for as little a time commitment as two hours a month. Volunteers/businesses can participate in many ways: guest speakers, mentors, portfolio reviewers, mock interviewers, field trips, job shadowing, internships etc.

Please call and discuss how you can assist with this important effort.

The purpose of the HR Managers Roundtable is to provide a forum in which HR Managers can exchange information and get questions answered among ourselves. If you are interested in being notified about future meetings please call/email Rikke Beal at 828-2000 or rbeal@haveinc.com.

Questar III's Columbia-Greene Educational Center, Business Information Systems high school students are maintaining an e-Commerce website to promote the various technical/trade programs at Questar. View products on line from the student managed bakery and construction business. Questar invites businesses to become a sponsor for the website.

If your business relates to any of Questar's programs (including: food service, welding, construction, cosmetology, health services, automotive, day care, security or office technology) why not advertise your services on their website.

Please call Mary Andrus at Questar for more information. 828-4157.
See www.scoresup.com/questar to view the website.

Friday, April 2nd, 2004 7:30-9:00
Columbia Greene Community College
Reservation deadline: March 29, 2004
$18 Members/ $25 Non-Members

Thursday, April 8, 2004, 6 pm
Pegasus Restaurant, Coxsackie
Reservations not required
Free to chamber members and their guests

Thursday, April 22nd,2004 5:30 - 7:00pm
192 Fairview Avenue, Hudson
Reservations not required, but appreciated call 828-4417.
Free to chamber members and their guests

Wednesday, April 28th, 2004
Noon - 1:30 pm (additional networking until 2:00pm)
The Purple Pepper, 3350 Rte. 9 Valatie
Reservation Deadline: April 21, 2004
$18 Members/ $25 Non-Members

Topic: "Human Resources Issues"
Presentor: John Bagyi, Equ.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 7:30 - 9:00 am
Kozel's Restaurant, Rt. 9H, Ghent
Reservation Deadline: May 5, 2004
$18 Members/ $25 Non-Members

Thursday, May 13, 20043 Location to be announced.
For further information call the Greene County Chamber at 943-4222.

Thursday, May 20th,2004 8:00-10:00
Topic: This program will introduce the services available through the Columbia Greene Workforce NY Career Center. Presentations will include America's Job Bank, available training grants, an overview of local labor market information as well as strategic planning efforts that are being undertaken to handle the anticipated labor shortages.

We invite businesses to visit our Career Resource Room. Why not arrange an on-site recruitment effort to attract the local labor pool? Find out about the NY Job Bank and how it can assist you in filling your employment vacancies, on both the local and national level.

Contact: Sherrill Restifo, NYSDOL, 828-4654 or sherill.restifo@labor.state.ny.us.

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Monday, May 24, 2004 Shot Gun Start at 1:00pm
Columbia Golf & Country Club Rt. 217, Claverack
Call the Chamber for more information, 828-4417.

Annual Greene County Fair: July 28th-August 1st, East Durham
Now is the time to sign up as a vender or volunteer!!
Call the Greene County Chamber at 943-4222.

The Business Review has launched a comprehensive web based service for Capital Region women business executives and entrepreneurs to provide networking, information, advice and local business news.
Check out http://albany.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/albany

If you have comments or feel this newsletter is helpful to you please let me know!

Maureen Boutin
Business Services Representative
Columbia Greene Workforce New York
4400 Route 23
Hudson, New York 12534
518-828-4181 ext. 5510
www.columbiagreeneworks.org

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If you can't find something you are looking for, please contact the Columbia-Greene Career Center for more assistance, (518) 828-4181 ext. 5510,TDD/TTY (518) 828-1399 or e-mail us .

one-stop@sunycgcc.edu