Governor Hochul and ESD Commissioner Hope Knight with others at ON-RAMP announcement

Jobs Of The Future: Governor Hochul Announces Three New Locations Selected For $200 Million On-Ramp Program

Capital Region, Finger Lakes and Mohawk Valley Eligible for Up to $40 Million to Establish Workforce Training Centers to Connect New Yorkers to Good Jobs in Advanced Manufacturing 

Regions Will Join Central New York ON-RAMP Flagship to Create Network of High-Impact Workforce Development Centers Across New York's Semiconductor Highway 

First Introduced in Governor's 2024 State of the State, Initiative Included in FY25 Enacted Budget 

Training Centers Will be Based on Highly Successful Model Developed by Northland Workforce Development Training Center in Buffalo 

Complements New York State's Investments in Workforce Development, Advanced Manufacturing and Semiconductor Industry 

Capital Region Proposes the Usage of Former College of Saint Rose Campus 

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the Capital Region, Finger Lakes and Mohawk Valley have been selected to advance to the planning stage of the $200 million One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) program. The regions join Central New York, in which Syracuse was established as the program's flagship location, and will create a network of high-impact workforce development centers to connect New Yorkers with careers in dynamic, high-growth advanced manufacturing industries. These workforce centers will equip New Yorkers with the skills they need and create an “on-ramp” to training, internships, apprenticeships and permanent employment and capitalize on the State's success in attracting and expanding advanced manufacturing companies such as Micron and GlobalFoundries. 

“Too many communities in Upstate New York have been left out and left behind for generations – and I'm fighting to bring them back,” Governor Hochul said. “These new ON-RAMP centers will be critical parts of the new I-90 advanced manufacturing corridor, giving New Yorkers the skills and training necessary for a good-paying job. New Yorkers are already seeing the benefits of our economic development strategy: good-paying jobs, revitalized communities and more money in their pockets.” 

First proposed in Governor Hochul's 2024 State of the State, ON-RAMP, which is managed by Empire State Development, was included in the FY25 Enacted Budget with the goal of establishing four new advanced manufacturing workforce development centers. The three regions announced today will receive up to $300,000 in planning grants to develop detailed road maps to establish the new ON-RAMP centers. Upon completion of a business plan, each center will receive up to $40 million in implementation funding. 

Training provided through ON-RAMP will be based on the highly successful model developed by the Northland Workforce Development Training Center located in Buffalo. Northland employs a model that is designed to reduce all the major barriers that prohibit students from enrolling and completing post secondary education such as transportation, childcare, academic readiness and affordability. These three centers will combine industry, academia, social services, organized labor and community organizations to provide high quality, in-demand training and the wraparound support necessary to remove these common barriers and empower more New Yorkers with the skills needed for careers in high growth advanced manufacturing industries. Each designee will spend the coming months in a planning phase where they will undertake a comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement process to develop a detailed blueprint for each center. 

Capital Region 

The Center for Economic Growth (CEG) will lead the Capital Region's ON-RAMP center, with a proposed primary location offering technical training, non-technical foundational and soft skills and critical wraparound services. CEG will lead the regional consortium of industry partners, including GlobalFoundries, Plug Power, General Electric, NSH USA, P1 Industries and Regeneron, plus local trades and workforce training providers. Regional manufacturing employment is at a 22-year high, driven by semiconductor, energy and biotech industry growth, and several major pending construction projects will require a skilled trades pipeline. The Capital Region proposal recommends the adaptive reuse of a now-vacant building on former College of Saint Rose campus, which serves as a centralized location among Albany neighborhoods and provides direct CDTA Bus Rapid Transit access. 

Finger Lakes 

Monroe Community College will lead the Finger Lakes ON-RAMP center in partnership with RochesterWorks. The proposed center includes a flagship location at the Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center located on Monroe Community College's downtown Rochester campus. The center will train future employees in advanced manufacturing, semiconductor development and manufacturing, robotics, electronics, smart technologies, associated skilled trades, clean energy manufacturing and other high-demand skills to support regional employers. Potential consortium partners include major employers like Plug Power, Optimax, Akoustis, Coach, G.W. Lisk, BMP, ARP, Edwards Vacuum, Barilla America and Bausch & Lomb, along with local training and service providers. The consortium will leverage partnerships among Monroe Community College, Finger Lakes Community College, Genesee Community College and regional Workforce Development Boards to create an integrated training network. 

Mohawk Valley 

Mohawk Valley Community College will lead this regional ON-RAMP center by redeveloping the soon to be vacant Science and Technology building at MVCC’s Utica campus. The new facility is strategically located near major employers Danfoss, Indium and Wolfspeed, across the street from the city’s high school and directly adjacent to a high-diversity neighborhood. The center will offer training for in-demand skills on low-cost, no-cost, and work-and-learn models; retention strategies to engage marginalized and underserved populations and support completion; and employer integration to facilitate direct job placement. MVCC will lead a consortium of six core organizations with a proven track record of workforce innovation. MVCC’s Free Fast Track program and MACNY’s Real-Life Rosies and Advanced 2 Apprenticeship Programs, both successful direct placement programs, will be housed at the ON-RAMP center and provide additional capacity for these programs to increase enrollment. 

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “By adding centers in the Capital Region, Mohawk Valley and Finger Lakes to connect with Central New York, the ON-RAMP network will connect New Yorkers to new opportunities all along the upstate semiconductor corridor. Today's announcement represents our latest investments in workforce training under Governor Hochul, and supports our continued efforts to reshore manufacturing jobs and build out the advanced manufacturing ecosystem.”

Read the full press release here.