Page 10 - SKILLS Workforce Development Guide 2021

For Employers: The New Landscape
in February, notes Jason Chapin, director of workforce development for the Westchester County Association (WCA), an economic development and business advocacy organization with 250 members.
The WCA has been staying in close communication with employers, as well as colleges and vocational schools in the area, to help ensure that there is a pipeline of workers with the right credentials to fill the jobs that exist in the post-pandemic economy. “They are graduating a lot of students who started their programs years ago,” says Chapin. “Some students started last spring. They may have had a job offer. Their job offer has been adjusted. They may not be working in the job or position they were hoping for. We have another group of seniors in college. They are scrambling to figure out what is available to them. A lot of colleges have told us they have alumni asking career services for help.”
People in disadvantaged groups, such as older workers, veterans, people with disabilities, and immigrants, face additional challenges, Chapin says. So do women, who
were disproportionately affected by the transition to online and hybrid learning during the pandemic. “They are a
very large portion of some sectors of the workforce,” says Chapin, pointing to industries such as education, office and administrative support, and healthcare, where women make up the majority of employees.
Chapin is hopeful that the $175 million the state set aside in Governor Cuomo’s Workforce Development Initiative in 2019 will start to flow soon to help address some of the challenges the county is facing. The funding was allocated for strategic regional efforts to meet short-term workforce needs, improve talent pipelines, enhance the flexibility and adaptability of local
Below: Air traffic slowdowns during the pandemic allowed an accelerated schedule for resurfacing work on runways at the Westchester County Airport.
8 SKILLS What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.
© Margaret Fox