President's Message - July, 2019 - Center for Economic Growth

President’s Message – July, 2019

Activity Snapshot

Accelerate Update

The following businesses joined our Accelerate capital campaign in the second quarter:

The Daily Gazette
M3 Placement & Partnership
Mechanical Testing
Auto/Mate
Albany Management
Robert C. Parker School
Livingston Energy Group
NYSEG
The Wagoner Firm

Veteran Connect Center

More than 225 people attended the launch of our Veteran Connect Center (VCC) on April 10 at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center. The VCC’s mission is to attract transitioning service members and veterans from around the globe to the Capital Region and retain those already here by connecting them to local career, educational and community support services. Justin Constantine, an Iraq War veteran and leading veteran employment expert, delivered the keynote address for the VCC’s launch.. He called the VCC “a model for what so many other communities across our country can do.” The following day, the VCC hosted its first HR training seminar, attended by 60 people, and reviewed how to attract, onboard and retain veteran talent.

On May 13, JobPath, the nation’s leading veteran employment platform for transitioning service members, was ready for use by Capital Region employers through the VCC. We’ve already hosted three JobPath webinars. By the end of the second quarter, we had already started serving eight veterans in the region, six service members interested in transitioning to the region, and three military spouses.

The VCC website is live and I encourage you to explore it at www.veteranconnectcenter.org.

Industry Attraction

CleanTech

We continue to work with our local ports in Albany and Coeymans, and local manufacturing and supply companies interested in off shore wind (OSW) production to engage OSW developers and companies looking to establish operations in the U.S. market.

We prepared marketing materials highlighting the Capital Region’s OSW industry and distributed them at a New York State Energy Research Authority (NYSERDA) supplier forum in Albany on June 6.

On July 18, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the nation’s largest offshore wind agreement. Winners of the state’s OSW solicitation were the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind development projects of Equinor US Holdings, Inc. and of a joint venture of Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy, respectively. Before the announcement, CEG had opened lines of communications with these developers and familiarized them with the Capital Region’s assets and opportunities.

Semiconductors

We are looking for ways that CEG can support Applied Materials’ new seven-year, $850 million Materials Engineering Technology Accelerator (META) Center at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

We joined SUNY Polytechnic Institute and other partners to bring more corporate venture and private equity for upstate tech firms.

Interactive Media

We are working with Empire State Development and the state’s three game hubs (RPI, RIT, and NYU) to create a collaborative booth/expo presence for the three colleges at the 2020 Game Developers Conference and other industry events.

We also continue to work with partners to host another collegiate esports gaming tournament and expo in Albany in late March 2020.

Economic Development

We are continuing discussions to support new venture creation and technology commercialization with direct connections to the Silicon Valley investor base, with a focus on gaming, life sciences, and AI clusters.

We are developing the concept for a regional venture fund for key tech industries, managed by CEG and funded with support from regional funds, New York State, and local partners.

We are supporting efforts to encourage new mixed-use development projects in the Capital Region’s major cities.

We are working with National Grid to identify sites that have the potential for large-scale development.

Workforce Development

In Q2, we onboarded several new companies into the Capital Region Manufacturing Intermediary Apprenticeship Program. Beechnut and Plug Power joined the Electro-Mechanical Technician trade. We also hosted our fifth Manufacturing Bootcamp at HVCC and had more than 20 participants. Additionally, in partnership with Albany Can Code and SUNY Schenectady, we launched the Capital Region’s first software developer apprenticeship program, with the Jahnel Group, MVP Health Care, and Troy Web Consulting being its first employer participants.

Business Growth Solutions

BGS’s quantified impact in the Capital Region totaled $54 million in 2018, up 9.3 percent from the previous year. Currently, we are delivering a return on investment of $94 for every $1 we receive in state and federal funding, compared to an ROI of $70 two years ago. Below are our 2018 impacts, as measured by the National Institute of Standards and Technology:

New sales: $5,513,400
Retained sales: $12,158,800
Jobs created: 46
Jobs retained: 272
Cost savings: $1,119,849
Client Investment: $8,061,880

Talent Connect

Talent Connect is currently serving five newcomers relocating into the region and assisting their spouse/partners with finding the right occupation as well. In the second quarter, Talent Connect exhibited at six career fairs to promote available jobs at our regional employers. Some of the fairs were outside the Capital Region, in the Berkshires and at Fort Drum in Watertown.

Economic Scorecards

This quarter’s performance scorecards have been one of the best to date, with 20 positive trending indicators, compared to 18 for the first quarter of this year. Indicators for the General Economic Conditions Scorecard were up across the board and the Transportation Scorecard showed improvement from Q1.

Download the Q2 2019 CEG Economic Scorecards.