So few jobs…so many jobseekers

"We first talked about this a couple of months ago," current TSEC chairman and president of Fala Technologies, Frank Falatyn explained. " Vinnie (Cozzolino) and I sensed that there were going to be a lot of lay-offs coming in the region…not just with IBM, but with NXP and some other larger employers and we wanted to do something."

TSEC, which functions as a kind of liaison between the solar technology researchers (most often located on university campuses), the solar and renewable power industry companies, and the markets seeking to use the new technologies. Currently, that market focus is centered on New York City, where energy costs are high and capital still exists for implementation.

"It makes the Hudson Valley an excellent place to be for this industry," said Falatyn, "because of its proximity to New York markets and to our research partners, like RPI, Cornell, SUNY New Paltz, Clarkson and others."

Up until the economy crashed last year, and the US began to lose jobs at around 500,000 per month, the biggest challenge to developing a strong renewable energy industry in the Hudson Valley was the lack of a trained and available workforce.

"I’ve personally trained every person I’ve needed to hire," Jeff Irish, the president of Hudson Valley Clean Energy explained. "There just aren’t that many trained installers out there, and that’s where the jobs are."

Irish, whose company designs and installs solar energy systems for homes and businesses explained that, even in the sluggish economy, his business is still growing at a nice, steady rate. While he wasn’t really looking to hire more installers just now, he did expect to have a number of openings in the spring, when house remodeling generally picks up. He also expected to have to train them – so he had his eye out at the job fair for some likely individuals.

As it was, most of the people lined up top speak with him and with the other 15 or so renewable energy companies, were engineers and IT people, not actual construction workers. Others offered an expertise in everything from accounting to marketing and PR.

"Honestly, I’m mainly here for the networking possibilities," accountant Kurt Rummel explained. "I currently work part time, on my own, as an accountant, but I live in a house that has solar panels and geo-thermal heating and I want to eventually be a part of this industry, but probably in something like office operations or accounting, not installing or anything."

Others, like "N. C." (a soon to be laid-off IBM engineer who explained that she did not want to give her whole name because it could jeopardize severance package) noted that a new job in manufacturing – or even field installation – would not phase her in the least.

"My job at IBM has always been very hands-on," said N.C. " I’ve done a lot of different jobs at IBM over the years and I’m willing to learn to do anything that’s needed on a new job – and I am not afraid to get my hands dirty."

It’s an attitude that is going to be needed, as the region reels from thousands of "white-collar" job losses and adjusts to the new reality of where the new jobs might be lurking, in an industry that is quickly evolving, but – with federal stimulus and state funding for training – could grow into a major economic base in the valley.

Besides the workforce development efforts, the WIBs, that have been created and are now working in a regional collaboration, the BOCES and the community colleges have also joined together in loose partnerships to provide some of that necessary training for the "green collar" jobs of the future.

"This fair has been very useful for so many jobseekers," Ulster BOCES continuing education director, Elizabeth Hayter, observed. "It’s good for many of these people to go around and talk to the employers about what jobs are becoming available, and then to come and see us to talk about how they can retool their skills to get those jobs."
Green technologies programs are already up and running at many of the BOCES and community colleges in the region. Hayter observed that most of the people who register for these training programs mirrored the general demographics of the phalanx of jobseekers winding around the job fair. By and large, they were in their 30s and 40s, and they had lately been employed in some sort of engineering or IT career.

Looking around the room, Richard Altman, the executive director of the Dutchess WIB shook his head and commented, "The anchor certainly has been struck into the sand." He worried that the alarming rate of unemployment in the region was going to significantly outstrip the number of new jobs that are likely to be created this year.

In order to be a part of the job fair, an employer needed to either be actively seeking some employees – or to have definite plans to do some hiring in the spring, SUNY New Paltz Career Center Director, Tonda Highley explained. She had encouraged the graduating students involved in green technology majors to come to the fair on Friday, if not to specifically interview, to gather useful information about what kinds of people and skill sets these employers are seeking.

"We have students who are engineering, computer science or business majors here today, " said Highley. "It’s good for them to see what kinds of skills employers are looking for in today’s job market."

Highley stressed, however, that the real focus of the day was on the unemployed individuals making the rounds in the room.

"We’re all going to be working more closely together, like we did in the 90s, when we had a similar situation here," said Highley. "Our general intent is to expose employers to the kinds of talents and skills we have here in the region to be tapped – and to expose jobseekers to the kinds of jobs that are here. If they need to go back and retool, then we’re here to help them do that, as well."

U.S Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D- 22^nd DISTRICT) was on hand Friday. He explained that he was really just there to lend his support to the effort and to stress just how important it really is for the Congress and the President to get a serious, broad-based stimulus package approved as soon as possible. He allowed that he didn’t really care if it happened with Republican support – or not.

"I sit on the appropriations committee," Hinchey explained. "We had many discussions with the House Republicans and we put in at least six of their amendments to the package. It’s time to get this passed, now, and signed by the President."

Hinchey stressed that the tax cuts being promoted by the Republicans on the Hill have already been shown not to have any impact on the economy – except to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer.

"Over the past decade, we have had the largest transfer of wealth from the middle and working classes to the rich since 1929," said Hinchey, " …and look where it’s gotten us. Tax cuts only work to transfer more wealth from the bottom to the top, they do nothing to stimulate the economy. Is this a spending bill? Well, yes, that’s what a stimulus is – it injects money into the economy to build projects and create jobs. And that is what’s needed now to get things moving again."

Creating more jobs was on just about everyone’s mind Friday at the job fair. The best estimates of how many jobs were actually being offered was around 50, with a hundred or so more in the offing by spring.

"50 jobs and, what, at least 400 attendees? You do the math," said Altman.