An extensive new report from global consulting firm Korn Ferry found that more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled worldwide by 2030 because there aren’t enough skilled people to take them. In the U.S., talent shortages have more than tripled in the last ten years, according to a Forbes report from September 2021. Nearly seven in ten employers struggle to fill positions.

Several factors are influencing the shortage. Older workers are retiring in large numbers, creating a vacuum in the workplace. Because the four-year university path has become a social norm, younger people aren’t pursuing skilled trades like they used to, creating a vacuum in skilled trades employment.

However, times are changing quickly.

Young people are discovering that community colleges like Fulton-Montgomery provide a faster path to a more lucrative and satisfying career without the burden of outrageous student loans. Likewise, older workers are seeing workforce training as a chance to explore new career opportunities without sacrificing family and other obligations.

FMCC Director of External Partnerships and Applied Learning Daniel Fogarty has been watching the tides turn for years. In response, he and his team have developed an expanded strategic vision to meet the challenges and opportunities of our shifting employment environment.

FMCC’s Business and Community Partnerships Center works with organizations like Fulmont Community Action Agency and the New York State Department of Labor to provide mutual support and shared resources that expand opportunities for local employers and employees alike. The center also initiates and strengthens cooperation with local businesses like Vireo Health, a manufacturer of cannabis products with plans to hire nearly 200 new skilled employees in 2022.

Fogarty and his team have already begun developing new certificates to meet the high employment demands of these local industries.

For example, they partnered with Virio to develop the hybrid Cultivation Technician Certificate that allows students to receive onsite training at Virio while they take courses at FMCC to supplement that training.

From healthcare to manufacturing and nearly everything in between, Fogarty and his team at FMCC are eager to partner with local businesses to train local talent.

On the Business and Community Partnerships Center’s new website, employers can stay informed about campus services including apprenticeships and workplace training. Interested businesses can schedule an onsite or virtual meeting to provide information about training requirements and workforce needs. If the business seems like a good fit, FMCC has the capacity to develop short-term training certificates or apprenticeships to meet those requirements and fill vacant positions with skilled employees.

“Really,” Fogarty says, “we want to do anything we can to help our local businesses, whether that’s providing services, expanding and building shared resources, or promoting local businesses to our students. We can train students in flexible, quick certificate programs where they can get done in a year and get to work at the job sites where they’ve trained. There are lots of companies out there yearning for workers, so it’s a win-win for students and employers.”