S3,E17 - Ben Sio, Dottie Gallagher, Joe Stefko

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 This is Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO, and your host for Talk CNY. It's been just over a year since the NY SMART I-Corridor was named a federally funded tech hub. It's the only federally funded tech hub to be focused on semiconductors in the country. We spoke with the three leaders of the convening organizations back when the tech hub was first announced to learn about the goals of the NY SMART I-Corridor and how it plans to turn Upstate New York into a globally known semiconductor hub. On this episode of TALK CNY, we check back in with those leaders and get the latest on the progress of the tech hub. This episode features Dottie Gallagher, President and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. Joe Stefko, President and CEO of OneROC, and Ben Sio, Acting President and CEO of CenterState CEO.

Dottie, Ben, Joe, thank you all for being here today.

Great to be with you.

So it has been about a year since the last time that we, all three of us or all three of you talked about tech hubs here on Talk CNY. A lot has been done, but for those who might need a little refresher, could you give a quick overview of what the NY SMART I-Corridor is and why it matters to those who live in the region.

Joe?

Oh, it falls to me. Wonderful.

Well, you the real...

Right out of the gate. I'll take the question. So, the NY SMART I-Corridor is one of 31 federally designated tech hubs, and of those 31, one of 12 to have received the First-in-the-Nation implementation award last July. Obviously, our tech hub is focused on the semiconductor and microelectronics space. We're operating, of course in the midst of a very robust and growing statewide ecosystem in that sector. Certainly, leveraging the work that will come with Micron's massive investment in Central New York. And as we'll talk more about during the conversation, we are in the process of standing up three component projects that are going to position us to truly capitalize on this generational economic opportunity, supporting supply chain workforce pipelines and commercialization to support company growth and innovation. So we're really excited about this partnership.

I mean this partnership between Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester is one of the biggest ones in recent history for sure. I mean, what has this collaboration over the past year opened up in other ways, being able to work together and up and down the freeway?

Well, actually we're having a lot of talks about that now. What is next, and how do we fully take advantage of the opportunity that's in front of us? We're looking at various ways to do that. I would say we've spent a lot of time really getting the program out on the street, and that's really where it's been focused. Rght now we have a huge challenge, which I think our partners are really helping us meet. That is to make sure that in all three markets with all four projects that we're kind of coordinated and we look like we're one entity when really we're a collection of entities that are working in a symbiotic way. So Joe's done a great job of organizing us, and I would say we meet really regularly with the project leads and with each other and just to keep it all together. And I think that's really been, it's working very well and I think we're now able to entertain, okay, well what could we do next together? How could we advance the work to the next level? So I'm feeling excited about the opportunity for that.

Yeah, I think we realized that after we got rolling on this work and started rolling out the projects and delivering some of this early work that we said we were going to do as part of the grant, we realized that hey, there's a lot of good commonalities between our communities that we hadn't really explored or thought about unlocking in the past. And Tech Hubs has given us the space to do that. And now we're exploring what else we can do as communities together to deal with common opportunities we have and common challenges that we face, not just in our individual communities, but things we're all feeling in our cities.

I would add one more thing about that, and that is that when we talk to our relative constituents in our own markets, the thing they're most excited about is not that we got this $48 million to build out this ecosystem. It's that we're working regionally. That's what we get the most positive feedback about. And that really bodes well for our ability to be able to leverage investment in the region and to really work collectively in the region. And I think we're really responding to that opportunity.

We actually did during this that we do like each other too.

Well, we like Rob Ben's. Okay,

Look, this is probably the biggest and most sustained collaboration across these communities. And obviously, that broader regional approach made for a really compelling tech hub bid. As a native upstater, that's been really exciting to see. But as my colleagues shared, even beyond the tech hub work, I think this connective tissue and trust that we've all invested in across these communities over the past few years is opening up opportunities in other domains. So whether it's some nascent conversations around how we can innovate and invest to support small businesses in our three communities or some of the work that we're doing to advance the startup ecosystem, I think the wins we've been able to stack together as a super region over the past couple of years really serve to strengthen that collaboration. And I think really importantly, and we'll see this going forward, make each of our communities invested in the other's growth alongside of our own. And I think that's really powerful glue.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I do think that, Joe, you mentioned it, and I a hundred percent agree. I think among this group of conveners, there is absolute trust that we have each other's backs and that we are all in this together in a regional way. And I think the next sort of leadership challenge for us is to imbibe that same sense downstream with other partners that are involved. It's certainly happening with the project leads right now, who are meeting regularly and really developing personal relationships because this all comes down to our ability to work together, and that requires a level of trust. We have a lot of people in our communities that are still very parochial, that have very specific geographic boundaries that they get elected to and that they're serving and all of that. So the work is not done here, but I certainly feel like we've taken a really good successful first year. And Ben, I do like you. I was just kidding when I said earlier.

Oh, thanks, Dottie.

Well, that's a relief. It sounds like the collaboration is really working well so far. So let's dig in a little bit on the three component projects, Joe, that you alluded to at the top of the show. I want to start with the supply chain project SCAN. Can you tell me a little bit about what SCAN is and how is it helping businesses get in and engage with the semiconductor ecosystem?

Do you want me to take that one, Joe, since it's Buffalo?

So the Supply Chain Activation Network, which is what SCAN stands for, is really about how do we help manufacturers that are in our region and adjacent to our region either grow their business that's in semiconductors or pivot within into the semiconductor supply chain. The University of Buffalo is the project lead for the corridor with that. Their partners and contractors are the economic development organizations and the manufacturing extension partners who are beginning now to meet with businesses to really assess what technical assistance they need to really see is this an opportunity for them as we move forward. I would say that that work, they had a very successful supply chain conference at UB that attracted a lot of people in industry and they put together a fantastic toolkit for businesses that have some interest in connecting to it. So that's really the beginning of the funnel is really talking to the existing manufacturers around that, and UB's doing a great job of doing that.

And what have you heard from some of those existing manufacturers that have engaged with the SCAN initiative so far?

I mean, I don't want to speak for everyone, but I think one of the challenges that on the positive side, the people that are in the supply chain already have need for capacity building and they're all in. So that's kind of the, I'm going to say not easy because it's very difficult to find funding for the kind of equipment that one needs in this particular industry. So we're learning about those funding challenges. And I would say for the people or organizations who might be considering or didn't even know that they were proximate to semiconductors, they have a real curiosity about when is this real? When would I need to be in this business? Because it's for them that further away from semiconductors they're now the more risk they perceive. And if that real demand numbers, you're asking a lot of an employer to take a leap. So we're working through all of that right now. Joe and Ben, is there anything else you'd add to that?

Well, I think it's important to note that with the supply chain work, we've really been focused on formalizing that company engagement framework. So as Dottie alluded to, what exactly are we offering, how do we make that business case to affirm that there is a real growth opportunity in this value chain, particularly for firms that maybe haven't thought about participating there before. And to support that, there is an analytical component as well. In addition to fielding inbound requests from companies that already see a possibility for themselves in that supply chain, we have been working with UB and the implementation team for the SCAN project along with ESD and the governor's semiconductor office GO-SEMI to essentially identify that prototype firm, that profile that would be a good pivot prospect. So even if they themselves don't see that opportunity yet. So this has been about primarily filling that prospect pipeline and now shifting to sort of a go-to-market strategy to engage them and make that business case and see how we can create an on-ramp for them to plug into the supply chain.

Yeah, I think the firms we're engaging with right now are the firms that are already in the semiconductor supply chain or microelectronics value stream somewhere. They may not be direct suppliers to Micron or to one of the major fabs, but they already see themselves in that space and they want to make sure they're getting into the pipeline of, Hey, when Micron is ready to have those conversations about suppliers, we're there with them. The next tier firm we anticipate seeing is ones that are, as Joe said, those pivot prospects, the ones that are right here in an adjacent industry that they're supplying maybe to the defense sector or they're supplying to another industry that has very high standards in terms of the quality of the product and the certifications that go into making that product. And they may need to do a couple of things to pivot, but it is a relatively easy pivot. Down the road, we're anticipating getting additional companies in that. Right now, we wouldn't even consider pivot prospects. They might be a supplier of material, for example, and they eventually could become a supplier for materials in the semiconductor industry, but they're nowhere near there yet. So it's actually three kind of tiers of companies we've started to engage, and we've had to kind of sort them out a little bit and understand, okay, you are ready to supply today. Let's make sure you are getting these services. You need to be, do a significant amount of work. So maybe a decade in the future you're ready to just supply, or you might be somewhere in between the two of those.

Well, we'll have much more on the progress of the NY SMART I-Corridor over the last year in just a moment. But first, a quick word from our presenting sponsor, NBT Bank.

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Welcome back. This is Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO, and your host for Talk CNY. I'm here today with Ben Sio, Dottie Gallagher, and Joe Stefko. We are talking about the progress of the NY SMART I-Corridor over the last year. Thank you all for being here today.

Thanks for having us.

So we talked a little bit about the initiative around supply chain SCAN, but we have two other component projects underway as well. Next, I want to talk about the focus on workforce development and talent attraction and retention, the STEP UP component. Can you tell me a little bit about what STEP UP is, and how it is trying to attract and retain talent in Central New York around the semiconductor industry?

Sure. So STEP UP, which is the Hub's workforce project, aims to bring online about 5,000 technicians and those middle skill roles and about 32, 3,300 workers in the trades over the next five years alone. And it's really through scaling existing programs, leaning into and further funding what's working, but also piloting initiatives that help us fill some critical gaps in the upskilling and reskilling space. But I think it's important that we be clear that on its own doesn't address the full talent need that we'll see across the region. This is really just one component, it's an important one, but we've got to not only meet the demand of the newly created jobs that we're going to be seeing, but we've got an aging workforce that needs to be backfilled and replenished. Honestly, over the next decade, I think all up, all in, we're looking at tens of thousands of positions across this entire corridor, a combination of new jobs and refill jobs. And that's why investments into our workforce infrastructure beyond STEP UP are really important. So ON-RAMP is a generational investment, a $200 million investment that the state of New York is making, that's why investments like that and the partnership between Tech Hub and those investments are so timely and important.

What are some of the unique or top priorities for you all as you build this workforce infrastructure? What are some of the things that you're making sure are built into this system?

Well, at its core, STEP UP is focused on creating this unified front door to the corridor's workforce development infrastructure. And so some of the interventions that are being supported with the Tech Hub funding include things like actual positions, directors of industry partnership that will be embedded in each of our chambers across the corridor to help employers really to be that concierge, to help employers find and hire and retain skilled talent. Tailored solutions where employers' specific hiring needs are actually translated into those training programs or upskilling pathways. Doing that in partnership with our higher ed partners, labor and community-based organizations, really creating a more robust workforce intelligence ecosystem so that we can inform this work with real-time labor market data and skills maps and demand forecasts to inform the decision on curriculum and programming. And as I mentioned before, opportunities through the ON-RAMP program, which is going to make available resources and programmatic infrastructure for those wraparound services that support talent retention and development alongside some of the employer-led work and learn initiatives that are part of the tech hub strategy. So it is important to recognize how the workforce, the Step UP component project really nests within this broader upstate investment in workforce development at a really crucial time in our economic history.

And I think it's important also to keep in mind, we're attempting to build this workforce ecosystem around the industry as it exists right now. And we've identified in each of the cities that we touched as part of the tech hubs, employers that have workforce needs right now, that we have existing workforce training programs that could be altered, that could be scaled, that need a little bit of additional funding to get across the finish line. So a lot of people think of workforce development in the semiconductor microelectronic space, and they're like, okay, how are we only creating training programs for Edwards Vacuum and for Micron? And those are two really big hiring companies that are going to make a huge imprint on the community in the future. But as of right now, neither to my knowledge are actually hiring a significant amount of manufacturing workers in the facilities.

We still have to build and finish building the facilities. So what we're trying to do as part of this is also, as Joe said, to the existing demand for trained skilled workers in the microelectronics industry. So Central New York and that also includes companies like TTM and Rochester includes companies like Optum X. In Buffalo, it includes companies like MOG that are here right now, hiring, and are looking to innovate in their own workforce development activities. Importantly, as I said when I started talking, it's about the demand that these guys already have. It's about reorienting our workforce development ecosystem to respond to industry needs that we see now and into the future

And beyond all of that, the question you asked is what are we being intentional about? And we really want to make sure that we're creating opportunities for everyone that we can really lift all of our communities and being really intentional about educating people about those opportunities and career exploration and disinvested communities to make sure that we really are bringing wealth, really deep wealth into our communities through this massive once-in-a-generational opportunity we have. And as Ben said, Micron and Edwards and a handful of others are the anchor tenants of a very large mall in the state of New York that has semiconductor businesses, large and small. And this is a great way for us to really build wealth in our communities.

Now, the third component project, C3 focuses on innovation in the semiconductor industry and enabling it in our region. Can you tell me a little bit about the progress that's been made along the C3 initiative so far and what you hope to see come to fruition in the months and years to come?

I can take this one if you guys are okay with that. The C3 program, don't ask me what C3 stands for because I've long forgotten, but C3 is managed by Syracuse University here in Central New York. But obviously, as all of our projects are designed, it is managed by one entity, but are multi-regional projects. So the folks at RIT, the folks at U of R, the folks at Cornell University and the folks at University of Buffalo are all part of this. All of these component projects have discretionary dollars as part of them. So it's funding that we have won as part of this $48 million worth of support that go directly either to training providers or to companies to do something as part of this work. And C3 is the first to market with their discretionary dollars that they call the Thrive Research Vouchers. So these are available right now. If you're a company that wants to innovate in the microelectronics space and wants to get access to some resources to do it, they have some parameters, but these are available right now. If you're interested in accessing those, you can talk to folks at CenterState at OneROC or the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, or we can connect you directly...

Or go to the website...

Or go to the website, even better. Thank you, Dottie. But those dollars are available to fund companies that want to work with the existing Centers of Excellence and Centers of Advanced Technology in all of these research institutions across the corridor that are part of the project to do microelectronics-oriented research work. So we're getting some startup companies that are interested in it right now. We're getting some larger companies that are already planning to expand their research, for example, with Cornell University, and they're using the availability of these resources to accelerate that and elevate that. So when people come and ask you, 'Hey, where can I get free money to do stuff?' And very rarely do we have the opportunity to actually have a pathway there, for this one in particular, and we will in the future in the SCAN program. There is discretionary dollars already available that can get accessed right now for C3, in the future for SCAN, but it's available right now for C3, that as Dottie said, you can access on the website.

So one year down, many years to go. But what is on the to-do list in the next year, in the next few months, in the next few weeks, what are you guys thinking of and seeing in the future for the NY SMART I-Corridor?

Well, that's the million-dollar question, right? In the last year, the dog has caught the car here, and we moved from planning to planning and strategy to activation across all these component projects. Look over the next year, I think the priority really is focused on accelerating engagement of firms across our markets and across these three component projects, connecting them to the hub resources that they need to put them in a position to meet at the moment. So for some, that's going to be technical assistance or capital support for supply chain. For some it's going to be commercialization and innovation support that Ben mentioned. For others, it's going to be, being better positioned to tap into this talent pipeline to fill emerging roles. And we know for a number of others, it's going to be a combination of two or all three of those projects. So that really is, I think what the focus is over the next 12 months. It's continuing to solidify this multi-market, multi-project effort in a way that gets companies ready to truly take advantage of the economic opportunity ahead of us and ensures that we are connecting our incumbent human capital across these three communities to all of this economic opportunity that's going to be emerging.

Well, Dottie, Ben, Joe, thank you all for being here today and letting us know what's going on in the NY SMART I-Corridor. Thank you.

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