Press Releases

2009 CDO Workforce Training & Career Expo June 9, 2009 10am-2pm (Howard Johnson, Norwich, NY) Click here to download Exhibitor Registration Form. My Turn: Training is key to job success May 13, 2009 (The Daily Star) Click here to read this news column article. CDO Workforce get $1 Million Dollars in government funds April 21, 2009 (The Daily Star) Click here to read press release. State to give funds for gas March 3, 2009 (Jake Palmateer, The Daily Star) A $250,000 plan by the state is designed to ease the financial burden on job-seekers by helping them out at the gas pump. The funding, administered by the state, comes from the federal Workforce Investment Act and will be dispersed through prepaid gas cards made available to work force investment boards. The program will be made available to 34 rural counties, including Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie. Kevin Price, executive director of the Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce Investment Board, said the gas cards will be distributed in $5 and $10 denominations and are available now. "Transportation is a big issue in the rural areas," Price said. For those seeking work, the gas cards will help make it easier to get to the four area CDO Workforce offices, search for jobs and make it to job interviews, Price said. The cards will be available until June 30 or whenever funding runs out, according to Gov. David Paterson's office, which announced the program Monday. "The latest unemployment numbers in New York are at a historic high, and we have yet to see the bottom of these tough times," Paterson said in a media release. "These gas cards are a way to get real money directly to those in need _ hard-working people looking for a job _ and they can use this money in a tangible way to help themselves gain employment." Card recipients must meet eligibility requirements as determined by their local work force investment board. Recipients are intended to be those who are unemployed, actively looking for work and who are working with a Workforce One-Stop Career Center in one of the 34 rural counties, according to Paterson's office. Price said there are job opportunities available in the area, although some may be entry-level positions or jobs that don't equal a job-seeker's previous income. "There are jobs out there and there are employers who are looking to hire," Price said. "Not everybody has been affected the same way by this recession." Updated unemployment figures are expected to be released by the state at the end of the week, and Price said he was eagerly awaiting them. CDO Workforce is also expecting to hear how much funding it will be receiving under the federal economic stimulus package, Price said. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will also mean a $25-per-week increase in unemployment checks beginning this week, according to the state Labor Department. The statewide unemployment rate was 7 percent in December, the last month for which data were available. The unemployment rate in the area that month ranged from a low in Otsego County of 7.3 percent to a high in Schoharie County of 8.7 percent. Work force investment boards, such as Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce Investment Board, were established after the passage of the 1998 Workforce Investment Act. The boards operate One-Stop Career Centers that provide career counseling and assistance with job searches. CDO Workforce locations include: 1 Gallant Ave., Delhi (607-746-7477) 21 Liberty St., Sidney (607-561-7550) 12 Dietz St., Oneonta (607-432-4800) 1 O'Hara Drive, Norwich (607-334-2201) CDO Workforce Receives $50,000 NYSDOL E-Learning Grant June 27, 2008 (CDO Workforce) CDO Workforce was awarded a $50,000 E-Learning Grant from NYS Department of Labor to provide on-line assessment and skill upgrade training through an internet-based learning management system/portal the Metrix Learning System, a NY Wired product. The award will enhance the existing capacity of the CDO Workforce One-stop Careers Centers to conduct objective skills assessment/testing and provide skill development and education. The Metrix Learning system in conjunction with the Kenexa “Prove It!” skill assessment/testing tool will enable the CDO Workforce One-stop Career Centers to provide:     1) Objective assessment/testing of an individual’s occupational skills relative to a selected occupation. The individual’s skill level can be assessed/tested for any of 1,100 occupations based on nationally recognized job classifications.     2) Identification of the individual’s “skills gap” based on the completed assessment for the selected occupation.     3) Access to Technology Based Learning (TBL) courses to address individual skills needs from a catalog of over 5,000 learning tools (24/7) via the internet. For more information about the Metrix Learning System or the Kenexa “Prove it!” assessment/testing tools, contact Charlie Masciola at the CDO Workforce One-stop Career Center in Oneonta (607) 432-4800 ext 115. Teacher/School Counselor One Week Career Development Education Course June 20, 2008 (CDO Workforce) Commerce Chenango, CDO Workforce, The Catskill Teachers Center, the Leatherstocking Center for Economic Education, and SUNY Oneonta have teamed up to once again to offer teachers, school councelors and administrators the opportunity to participate in one of the areas most dynamic educational courses focused on current and future trends in careers and business. Occupational Trends, now in its 12th year, is a experiental learning course consisting of on-site tours and presentations with ten (10) of the areas fines businesses, and noted entrepreneurs. The course is designed to create the critical exchange of information and knowledge that focuses on current and future trends in business, and educate participants on the variety of jobs and career ladders in the three county area. Each day for five days, July 7th -11th, the class will meet at different business locations in Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego counties that are representative of area businesses. Each host will provide a tour of their facility and discuss the nature of jobs at the facility and how they have and will change. Experiences gained in the course is designed to assist K-12 teachers, school counselors and school administrator in meeting New York State economics and career development and occupational studies (CDOS) standards, and in carrying out school-to-work initiatives. Participants are eligible to earn either three graduate credits (tuition free) from the SUNY College at Oneonta or 45 in-service credit hours. There is a limit on the number of people who will be accepted into the course. Admission is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and July 7th is fast approaching. For more information and to register, contact The Catskill Regional Teacher Center at (607) 436-3920. State University of New York funds is not official April 7, 2006 (The Daily Star) In their rush to pass an on-time budget giving cash to groups across the state, lawmakers left out authorizing payments to one of the organizations they said they wanted to help the most, the State University of New York. The state budget the Legislature passed last week detailed $416 million in construction funding lawmakers wanted approved for SUNY campuses, but it did not include technical authorization to actually spend that money. It means the $17.8 million for SUNY Cobleskill’s Wheeler Hall and Frisbee Hall, $10 million for SUNY Delhi’s student union and $6 million for the State University College at Oneonta’s Cooperstown campus may not really exist, along with other projects on campuses statewide. Top legislative staff have been working this week trying to fix the problem. Mentors, donations sought for Women Helping Girls February 1, 2006 (The Daily Star) With support from the Catskill Regional Teacher Center and a number of educators and community resources in the area, fifth- and sixth-grade young women from the Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES and Otsego Northern Catskill BOCES regions will come together at Hartwick College in Oneonta for Women Helping Girls Make Choices on Saturday, April 8. The Catskill Regional Teacher Center, CDO Workforce, The Place, Hartwick College’s Departments of Sociology and Education, DCMO and ONC BOCES provide support this program. Annual CDO Workforce Job Fair & Career Expo will be held on January 25, 2006 January 18, 2006 (The Daily Star) The annual Chenango-Delaware Otsego Workforce Career Expo and Job Fair is scheduled for next week, according to a news release. The fair will be between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Jan. 25 at the FoxCare Center in Oneonta, the release said. Co-sponsoring businesses at the fair include A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital, Tyco Healthcare, the Mang Insurance Agency, the Mirabito Fuel Group and the Arc Otsego.