By Katie Liu
The NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York hosted its first ever workforce development day June 16 in Syracuse. More than 100 stakeholders and coalition members gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing New York’s workforce. Attendees included government officials who fund projects, university students curious about career development, and leaders aiming to further innovate and sustain their own workforce programs.
“It is those relationships that are so important in order to drive advancements, whether it’s advancements in technology or advancements in economic activity,” said Tim Thomas, chief workforce development officer for the NSF Energy Storage Engine. “These partnerships are going to be critical in building a sustainable and resilient workforce for the emerging energy storage sector in New York state.”
The NSF Energy Storage in Upstate New York is part of one of the National Science Foundation’s broadest initiatives, the Regional Innovation Engines program. Its primary goal is to bolster U.S. security and innovation, as well as usher in economic growth in regions around the nation.
The NSF Energy Storage Engine aims to transform upstate New York into America’s battery tech capital, seeded in a region where major historic manufacturers like IBM were launched and new technologies continue to be born.
“We, the people of upstate New York, are uniquely positioned to lead the charge, by leveraging our tremendous human capital, best-in-class testbeds and R&D infrastructure, the unprecedented recent investments from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, and most importantly, your help, support and enthusiastic participation,” Engine CEO Meera Sampath said in an opening address.
The day included a speech from Rep. John Mannion, an alumnus of Binghamton University who represents New York’s 22nd congressional district. He emphasized the rich history of innovation in the region, whose roots still exist to bolster developments and growth today.
“It’s that history of innovation that still exists, and why organizations and businesses continue to be drawn here,” Mannion said. “We positioned ourselves in a fantastic spot here in upstate New York after a few decades of some really challenging times.”
The morning included presentations and panels discussing current trends and possible opportunities in energy storage consumption and workforce funding, as well as panels highlighting success stories from the industry.
“This is a great opportunity to get everyone together in one room,” Workforce Development Program Coordinator Leah Flask said. “We have an opportunity to do some facilitated breakout sessions in the afternoon as well. They are going to focus on the three different areas where we’re trying to invest in these workforce development programs: with youth education, college-based learning and adult learning and training.”
With varying levels of energy storage expertise in the room, from newcomers to industry veterans, these sessions provided an opportunity for the coalition to network and crowdsource solutions from one another. They focused on the current state of the workforce and a future ideal state, with the ambitious goal of troubleshooting ways to create bridges leading to the latter.
“We have funded many different groups of community colleges, universities and everyone to work on various projects,” Sampath said. “Now, these are all different groups that are being brought together by the workforce development network. It’s very critical that we can get this group of people to continue to keep the conversations going.”
For Marriner Merrill, associate engineering professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, one of the Engine’s core partners, the workforce convening was also a chance to ensure the burgeoning energy storage industry is inclusive of deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
“When a new industry happens, accessibility, in terms of enabling an individual with a disability to be able to do something, is sort of baked in from the very beginning. It can be just simple things, like putting captions on,” he said.
Moreover, having the dedicated time to meet with fellow leaders and find new methods to ensure the longevity of workforce development programs was also a highlight for Merrill.
“This is very new for us. We’ve waved arms a lot. We splashed a lot of water around. We’re trying to figure out how to do this,” he said. “Now, we’ve learned a ton. So what are we going to do to take this and make it sustainable?”
Looking forward, the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York is preparing for its next three-year period. Events like this, Sampath said, are crucial for developing connections, strategies and priorities the coalition will need to carry out the NSF’s mission of bolstering American innovation ecosystems.
“We have funded a significant number of projects, and they’re all ahead of where they were scheduled to be. So we wanted to highlight the good work that was being done here, so we could figure out ways to scale that good work and expand,” Thomas said.
Workforce days such as this one will become annual symposiums to continue scaling that impact. However, as the inaugural meeting drew to a close, Thomas’ biggest hopes were for the Engine’s workforce development partners to understand that the industry is here in New York — and here to stay. For the economic development partners and policy leaders in the room, he also hoped they would take advantage of collaborations with workforce partners and opportunities in the ecosystem at large.
“There is not one solution to developing the workforce,” Thomas said.
No responses yet