Opinion: Time to Address Workforce Crisis with Ready to Work
By John Ravitz
New York faces a workforce crisis with 500,000 open jobs in critical industries. The Ready to Work Initiative proposes a $100 million investment in job training and support services. This initiative aims to connect underutilized workers with employers struggling to fill vacancies. The Business Council of Westchester and other organizations support the initiative to address the workforce shortage. The author urges the governor and legislative leaders to prioritize the Ready to Work Initiative in the upcoming budget.
Right now, news reports from Washington, D.C. are fixated on the major cuts to the federal workforce. But here in New York, we’re facing a very different kind of workforce crisis. From the Hudson Valley to Buffalo, businesses of all sizes are facing a harsh reality: there simply aren’t enough workers to fill the jobs that keep our economy running. Right now, there are 500,000 open jobs across the state in critical industries like healthcare, construction, and hospitality. That’s not a political talking point — it’s an economic emergency.
From the Bronx to Ballston Spa, New York’s business community is not interested in partisan battles or political posturing. We are focused on practical, bipartisan solutions that will strengthen our workforce, support local businesses, and grow our economy.
That’s why I, along with a broad and growing coalition of other business, labor and nonprofit leaders, strongly support the Ready to Work Initiative, which calls for a $100 million investment in job training programs, career development for underutilized workers, and support services like childcare and transportation assistance to help fill these vacant positions.
We cannot afford to get sidetracked by divisive rhetoric. The reality is that we have job openings, and we have willing workers. Instead of letting Washington’s polarized debates stall progress, New York must cut through the noise to create smart, common-sense policies that connect underutilized and untapped workers — including work-authorized recent arrivals — with the employers who desperately need them.
The business community sees the economic opportunity here. Many of the jobs we need to fill in Westchester County and the surrounding region require specialized skills and training, and that’s exactly what the Ready to Work Initiative will provide. This investment would ensure that businesses have access to the trained workforce they need to stay competitive, while also giving job seekers — whether longtime residents or new arrivals — the opportunity to build stable, successful careers. It’s why a wide array of businesses and associations — the Business Council of New York State, my own organization, the Business Council of Westchester — have all signed on to Ready to Work.
Every day we delay, our state’s economy suffers. If we don’t address our workforce crisis, we will continue to see businesses struggle, local economies stagnate, and vital services go underprovided. We need action, not politics. As a former state legislator, I’m heartened to see that more than 15 of our state legislators — led by labor committee chairs Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson, and economic development leads Senator Sean Ryan and Assemblymember Al Stirpe — have signed on in support. But we need the governor and our legislative leaders to signal that this is a priority for next month’s budget — and why shouldn’t it be, given the broad, bi-partisan support and the potential to unlock New York’s full economic potential?
New York has always been a place where people come to build a better life and contribute to their communities. It’s why I’m going to Albany this week to join our coalition partners — everyone from worker centers to unions to businesses — to deliver our message: Now is the time for Albany to step up and make this investment in our future.
Let’s embrace this long tradition of success and once again invest in workforce solutions that benefit everyone — our businesses, our workers and our state’s economy.
JohnRavitzisthe Executive Vice PresidentandCOOoftheBusinessCouncilof Westchester, and a former member of the New York State Assembly.
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