Client Profile – Northland Workforce Training Center

The Northland Workforce Training Center was an innovative project conceived by the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council and the signature project of Governor Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion.  Headed by Stephen Tucker, President and CEO, Northland has become a model of success for attracting non-traditional students and keeping them in school until they achieve a degree in advanced manufacturing and find a job making a family-sustaining wage.  Of Northland’s students, 50% are minorities with nearly 10% women, which is highly unusual in these job sectors.  Effective wrap-around services help students overcome issues of poverty, including childcare and transportation obstacles as well as any mental or substance abuse issues they may have faced in the past.  I have been in the building many times, and it is exciting to watch these students learning a trade that will allow them to move into the middle class and comfortably raise their families while also supporting the manufacturing sector in Western New York.  We are pleased that we have been able to bring in support from outside the traditional New York funding streams – stay tuned for a big announcement about that very soon!