The City of Jamestown, NY is proud to join a new peer-learning cohort led by the National League of Cities and the United States Department of Labor to accelerate city efforts to design, develop, and launch a workforce initiative to build pathways into good jobs. The Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy works with municipalities to spur innovative and scalable city-supported solutions that upskill and reskill workers into quality, high-demand jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing jobs made possible by investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
In a statement, Mayor Eddie Sundquist said, “I am thrilled that Jamestown was selected to be a part of the Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy. Jamestown and Chautauqua County have a long and proud history of manufacturing, with over $5 billion each year in manufacturing exports. I thank our over 20 partner organizations who supported this effort, which included representatives from the business, labor, education, and non-profit communities. This Academy is highly selective, and I look forward to working with experts from the National League of Cities and the Department of Labor.
Due to the needs of developing our workforce, my administration has set aside $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for workforce development programs to push our economy and working families forward. This Academy will help us focus our resources, ensure we are on the cutting edge of workforce development programs, and help organize our diverse set of partner organizations to ensure our workforce development pipeline is flexible and responsive to the needs of our local employers and economy. This is key to growing our local economy and, most importantly, to provide Jamestown residents more paths forward into good paying jobs that can be built into long-lasting careers.”
There are currently over 300 manufacturers with over 2000 unfilled advanced manufacturing jobs in the Jamestown area today. The City of Jamestown is looking to create a comprehensive system of support and guidance for individuals preparing to enter, entering, or exiting the pipelines to advanced manufacturing jobs and infrastructure trades. Through this academy, the goal is to align and coordinate partners so that all supportive services, training, education providers, and employers are working in conjunction with one another to fill open positions in the new manufacturing economy.
Jamestown is joined by 15 other cities – Birmingham, AL, Chattanooga, TN, Duluth, MN, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Frederick, MD, Jamestown, NY, Kokomo, IN, Lansing, MI, Missoula, MT, Monroe, NC, Newark, NJ, San Antonio, TX, Santa Fe, NM, Saint Louis, MO, Tacoma, WA, and Tempe, AZ – in the Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy. The program will run through 2024.
