Local industries are desperate for skilled workers, Finch Paper President Eric Wood told the superintendents, board of education members and state legislators at the Legislative Breakfast the morning of Jan. 19, 2024 at the Southern Adirondack Education Center in Hudson Falls.
Wood said he contacted and polled area businesses specializing in construction, HVAC, heavy equipment operating, welding and forestry.
“Local businesses, mine included, are walking away from tens of millions of dollars in revenue every single year,” Wood said.
Businesses don’t have enough people to do the work, and businesses are spending time and money to train unskilled workers to fill the vacant positions.
“This impact is catastrophic,” he said, noting that AngioDynamics is closing its Glens Falls and Queensbury locations due in part to lack of skilled workers. “That’s sad. We just lost 350 jobs in our community.”
He encouraged legislators to invest in CTE programs.
“These are our children, these are our neighbors, these are our families, these are our friends,” he said. “And these are people that stay; 70% of people live within 100 miles of their hometown. So, that’s where we should be investing our money.”
Wood has worked with Queensbury Union Free School District to introduce STEM to girls at young ages. Over the past eight years, Wood and the district have collaborated to introduce papermaking to second graders, conduct fourth grade science fairs, fifth grade Career Days, and eighth grade field trips to Finch Paper in Glens Falls.
“With the high school, we do a program with CTE students on how to be a millionaire at Finch Paper,” he said.
Wood has also helped start the Vex Robotics teams at QUFSD.
He again urged legislators to enhance program offerings to increase student enrollment to accelerate the community to meet the needs of local businesses.
“This acceleration will allow us to grow and prosper,” Wood said. “We can do so much more.”
Queensbury Class of 2023 graduate Hailey Burdick said studying PowerSports Technology at CTE was one of the best decisions she ever made. She is now a sales representative at Sportline Power Products in Queensbury.
“BOCES offers great guidance to women in the trades, and they are a great support team,” she said.
Queensbury High School junior Amelia Shattuck, who is studying Construction Trades at CTE, said she is looking forward to becoming an interior designer.
“My CTE program is preparing me by helping me work with a team,” she said, “completing projects before a deadline, and teaching me how to properly and safely use tools.”