Provided

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during “Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Food Processing Industry,” a summit sponsored by Cornell’s Harvest New York program and Cornell Cooperative Extension June 22 at Syracuse’s Onondaga Community College.

During a daylong gathering of academic, government and industry leaders June 22 at Syracuse’s Onondaga Community College to address growing workforce demands on New York’s expanding food and beverage manufacturing industry, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., announced new legislation to address the skills gap employers face and help workers get good-paying jobs.

The bipartisan “Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015” – outlined at the summit on “Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Food Processing Industry” cosponsored by Cornell’s Harvest New York program and Cornell Cooperative Extension – would create a $5,000 tax credit for employers who use apprenticeship programs to train workers in high-demand professions such as health care, the food and beverage industry or other manufacturing and technology sectors. The bill also would allow veterans in apprenticeships to get credit for previous military training and experience.

“If we want our businesses to expand, create new jobs and spur growth in our economy, then we must make sure they have access to a well-trained, highly skilled workforce,” Gillibrand said. “This new bipartisan legislation would incentivize employers to provide on-the-job training for workers, connect veterans with jobs that match their skills and military experience and encourage senior employees to mentor and train new employees.”

The food and beverage manufacturing industry plays an important role to the state’s economy. For every job in food manufacturing, 1.91 jobs are created in support of the industry. From 2009 to 2014, food-manufacturing jobs grew 9.8 percent to more than 52,000 statewide – four times faster than job growth in the nation as a whole. New research from Cornell also predicts New York will see more than 6 percent growth in the industry over the next five years as the food and beverage manufacturing industry workforce approaches retirement age.

Said Kathryn J. Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: “Cornell has been supporting New York state food and beverage producers for more than 150 years through innovative outreach and we welcome this initiative as an important means to create a vital regional economy.”

Gillibrand is a cosponsor of the legislation, S.959, introduced in April by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). The legislation would:

• Create a $5,000 tax credit based on wages paid by companies who hire individuals enrolled in a federal- or state-registered apprentice program.
• Targets companies that hire a new, full-time apprentices in high-demand, mechanic or technical, healthcare or technology professions. The apprentice must be employed for at least 7 months before the credit can be claimed. The tax credit can also be claimed as the apprentice works through the program for a maximum of 3 years.
• Allow veterans to apply their previous training and education hours so their skills are more effectively and more quickly put to use.
• Allow senior employees near retirement to draw from pensions early if they’re involved in mentoring or training new employees. Workers must be at least 55 and have reduced work hours to spend at least 20 percent of their time training or educating employees or students.

“We are confident that CCE can contribute further to economic success of New York based on the experience of the Harvest New York program in which we have partnered with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and SUNY campuses to provide educational training opportunities for future employees of New York state’s growing food and beverage manufacturing industry,” said Chris Watkins, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE).

The June 22 food industry workforce summit was also sponsored by Onondaga Community College, the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals and the Workforce Development Institute.