Legislature approves county workforce plan; staff report says CNA, CDL classes and hiring events are underway

The Sullivan County Legislature voted to authorize the chair to sign the county's four-year local workforce development plan after staff reported the plan was submitted to and approved by the New York State Department of Labor.

Laura, a workforce staff member, told legislators the plan has been submitted and approved and that the authorization would allow "Nadia as the chief elected official" to sign the document. She said a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) class is full and scheduled to start Sept. 8 and that a Commercial Driver's License Class B (CDLB) course will begin Sept. 23 at SUNY Sullivan, taught by a contractor from Kingston. The CDLB course runs Monday'Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; participants must have a valid driver's license and pass a drug test and DOT physical, Laura said.

Laura also summarized other workforce services and outcomes: a disability resource coordinator has served 269 participants to date, with 201 actively enrolled and 46 people with disabilities obtaining employment. The county career center listed 227 jobs in July and reported 538 individuals served that month. She highlighted in-house hiring events scheduled for Sept. 9 and Sept. 16 and said Delaware Valley Job Corps has been cleared to resume recruiting and currently has 67 students with plans to grow to 208.

The resolution to authorize the chair to sign the workforce plan passed on a recorded voice vote reported as "Aye" by the presiding clerk; the tally was recorded in the meeting as unanimous (5'zip).

Why it matters: the plan establishes the county's workforce priorities and enables local workforce training and employer engagement tied to the county's hiring and placement efforts. Staff described both near-term training (CNA, CDLB) and employer outreach, which officials said could reduce hiring gaps for local employers.

Laura and other staff stressed the plan's role in connecting training to jobs. "The CNA class is full and set to start Sept. 8," Laura said, and she urged legislators and employers to encourage participation in the October workforce summit focused on hiring people with disabilities.

Looking ahead: staff said they will continue running training pilots with SUNY Sullivan and expand offerings based on demand. The legislature's authorization allows the chair to execute the plan paperwork with the state.

Votes at a glance

- Resolution: Authorize chair to sign the Sullivan County four-year local workforce development plan. Outcome: approved (recorded as "Aye. 5 zip").