Current through 2024 NY Law Chapter 456
Section 16-j - Strategic training alliance program1.Program created. Pursuant to this section and article 24-A of the labor law there is hereby established within the corporation and the department of labor a strategic training alliance program to identify and address employer demands for skilled workers. The corporation and the department of labor may cooperate with the department of economic development, the state university of New York, the city university of New York, and the state education department, in providing support within amounts available for the program for training activities by an eligible applicant which is defined as an employer or an employer in conjunction with a labor organization, a strategic alliance or network or association of employers with common problems or concerns, a private industry council established pursuant to the federal job training partnership act ( P.L. 97-300) or one or more local workforce investment boards established pursuant to the federal workforce investment act (P.L. 105-300) representing a strategic alliance.2.Project plans. (a) Project plans shall be submitted to the corporation or the department of labor by applicants. The corporation and the department of labor shall, upon receipt of project plans, jointly review such plans in order to assure that they are approved or disapproved within the time limits set forth in paragraph (c) of this subdivision.(b) Plans submitted pursuant to this article shall include:(i) documentation of the need for such training;(ii) the type of training and the number of individuals to be trained;(iii) a commitment of a cash or in-kind contribution to the cost of the project;(iv) a commitment to first consider individuals who are unemployed, dislocated, or economically disadvantaged for employment in positions created as a result of training;(v) the identification of an eligible training provider which is defined as a community college, agricultural and technical college, an institution of higher education, a local education agency, a community based organization or a strategic alliance;(vi) the identification of specific projects to be assisted; and,(vii) a description of technologies to be used to disseminate the training to participating employers.(c) The corporation and the department of labor shall jointly approve or disapprove project plans within thirty days of receipt of such plans.3.Assistance. (a)Assistance provided by the corporation to eligible applicants pursuant to the joint approval involving the department of labor set forth in this article shall be used for the costs of classroom training, curriculum development, and training materials associated with on the job training, skills upgrading, skills retraining, and basic skills training; and(b) The corporation and the department of labor shall ensure that:(i) not less than twenty percent of the program funds are used in support of projects that assist small businesses as defined in section one hundred thirty-one of the economic development law; and(ii) not less than twenty percent of program funds are used in support of projects that assist strategic alliances or networks or associations of employers with common problems or concerns.(c) The corporation and the department of labor may within amounts available for the program provide additional funds for regional and statewide initiatives that lead to the development and implementation of an electronically supported training and workforce education system.4.Report and evaluation. (a)The corporation and the department of labor shall report to the legislature annually identifying the employers or alliances receiving training assistance, the type of training provided, and the number of individuals trained and newly hired including those who were previously unemployed or economically disadvantaged. (b) The corporation and the department of labor shall also provide for an independent evaluation of the program on or before June 1, 2002, and every three years after. The cost of such evaluation shall be deemed to be an eligible expense of the New York state strategic training alliance program.N.Y. Urban Development Corporation Act § 16-j