Assemblyman Brindisi Asks State Education Officials to Strengthen Technical Education Programs in Public Schools

Brindisi: Area manufacturers need skilled job applicants

December 10, 2012

Utica – Assemblyman Anthony J. Brindisi (D-Utica) has written to the Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, Merryl Tisch, asking the board to consider developing a high school diploma that emphasizes skills needed for technical and manufacturing jobs.

“As I have been meeting with business owners and constituents, it has become increasingly clear to me that the shortage of well trained applicants for jobs in skilled professions and trades such as machining and welding is becoming a crisis,” Brindisi said “New York State Education officials need to begin developing an alternate career pathway for students beyond the traditional high school diploma.”

Brindisi said during recent tours of CTM Corporation in Frankfort, and Rome Specialty Company, Inc., officials there encouraged him to advocate for new secondary school curriculum that would provide students with a technical education that would better prepare them for jobs at their companies.

“In most cases, today’s high school students are not considering careers in manufacturing, and that is unfortunate,” CTM President Steven Naegele said. “CTM is a high precision engineering machine shop, and we offer a bright future for students with a strong mechanical aptitude. There’s a lingering stereotype that manufacturing no longer offers many career opportunities, and that’s simply not true.”

“When we have a position to fill, it is getting more and more difficult to find applicants with the skills set that’s required to do the job,” said John H. Butts III of Rome Specialty Company, Inc., which is a manufacturer of fishing tackle. “The development of a technical education diploma in New York would help my company fill jobs, and that will be a plus for the state’s economy.”

“For too long, New York public school students have been led to believe that they cannot succeed without a four year college degree,” Brindisi said. “Now, it is obvious that many college graduates leave school burdened in student loan debt lacking the skills to obtain anything but a menial job. We need to change this mindset, and provide the guidance and the curriculum to encourage students who may not have the interest to go on to college to consider a manufacturing or technical career instead.”

“In September, about 238,000 job openings in America went unfilled,” Brindisi said. “Many of these jobs were in technical or manufacturing areas. Manufacturing has changed in recent years, and many of these jobs pay well, require problem solving and creative thinking skills, and do not require a college degree. Not every high school student has the interest in pursuing a four year degree, and we need to encourage more students to look at a technical education diploma as a viable alternative.”

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