SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — CenterState CEO launched a new program this week designed to keep graduates in Central New York after college.
The leaders of the program are this week’s guests on Newsmakers:
- Alan Rottenberg, Founder, Canadian Career Apprenticeship Initiative
- Kristen Aust, Director of Career Advising, Syracuse University
- David Mankiewicz, Senior Vice President, Research, Policy and Planning
The Career Apprenticeship Initiative offers graduates, especially with liberal arts degrees, with a one-year position at participating regional employers. The partnership guarantees the student their first job, a chance for work experience, mentoring, pay and benefits, while the company gets $7,500 toward the person’s salary.
The program was founded in Canada by Alan Rottenberg, where he’s replicated it in multiple cities. Syracuse is the first United States city in which the program is starting.
The employers participating in the pilot program this year include Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, INFICON, American Food & Vending, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse Housing Authority and Community Bank.
The program is designed to retain more college graduates at a time when Central New York has 5,600 job openings with thousands more expected from Micron.
You can watch this week’s edition of Newsmakers with Andrew Donovan in the video player above.
