Statement from Liz Burdock, President & CEO, Business Network for Offshore Wind
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled the 32nd proposal of his 2020 State of the State Address: Expanding on New York’s historic $175 million Workforce Development Initiative to meet emerging job demands, including two programs focused on clean energy and offshore wind:
- Launch of the new Offshore Wind Training Institute on Long Island at SUNY Stony Brook and Farmingdale: SUNY’s Farmingdale State College and Stony Brook University campuses will formally solicit partners for its $20 million Offshore Wind Training Institute, so that training of 2,500 New Yorkers can begin in 2021, when the industry is expected to need a significant number of new, skilled employees.
- Investment of an additional $40 million, totaling an investment of $100 million, over the next five years to train 40,000 clean energy workers:
- NYSERDA, in concert with the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, will build partnerships with the clean energy industry to ensure that workers are not only trained but placed in jobs through on-the-job training for new workers, supporting internships and career pathway initiatives.
- NYSERDA will work with community-based organizations across the state to ensure this industry-driven training engages veterans and other priority groups to support a fair transition to a clean energy economy.
Under this initiative, the state is also expanding internship programs and building job training centers in underserved areas across the state to ensure that the offshore wind industry has the high-skilled workers it needs when they are needed.
“We thank the governor and our friends at NYSERDA for expanding these workforce programs, which continues the momentum from last year’s call for 9000MW of offshore wind by 2035 and the ports infrastructure program,” said Liz Burdock, President & CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind. “It will take a partnership of industry, labor and academics to provide training opportunities for the many occupations involved in the complex and diverse offshore wind industry, and this is a great start.”
“We also hope that the state will consider publishing an offshore wind solicitation schedule for the next ten years to show the industry how they intend to get to 9000MW, with milestones along the way,” added Burdock.
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About the Business Network for Offshore Wind
The Business Network for Offshore Wind is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing an offshore wind supply chain in the United States. The Network is focused on delivering education, creating partnerships and advancing the industry. All membership and event proceeds are invested back into supporting the industry by helping the Network continue programmatic education and develop the tools and networks necessary to create a U.S. offshore wind supply chain. The Network hosts the annual International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) (www.2020ipf.com), the leading technical conference for offshore wind in the United States dedicated to moving the industry forward.