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Page 6 January 6, 2010 The Spotlight
The year we’d like to see
Last week, in conjunction with the fi rst half of our annual
Year in Review feature, The Spotlight brought you an editorial
titled “The year that never was.” In it, we lamented our
failing economy, our irresponsible government and those
who thrive in it.
We’ll be the fi rst to admit that pointing out shortcomings
is easy, especially when it’s
done in hindsight. So, in
the spirit of the New Year,
and to cement the notion Editorial
that The Spotlight emphasizes
the “constructive” in
constructive criticism, here are a few things we’d like to
see in 2010:
First of all, we’d like to see New York in the black. By
all accounts, we are tossing the cushions for change at the
state level to stay just shy of bankruptcy — and that may
change for the worse by the time you read this. To this
end, we’d like to see our state legislators stop avoiding diffi
cult decisions just so they can maintain their campaign
contributions from powerful unions. Let’s break this down
for our slower elected offi cials: “Legislate” is a verb. A verb
is an action word. If the best action you can think of is to
push contentious issues to the courts or vilify the governor
because he made a diffi cult decision that you could not,
then you should not be a legislator. We’d like to see more
politicians risk compromising political favor on behalf of
the welfare of their constituents.
We would also like our town offi cials to realize that good
governance is devoid of ego. That their agenda take a back
seat to those of the people that elected them; that everything
they do, every vote they cast, every motion they make is
meant to better the constituency, not themselves.
We would like schools to do more with less, and see
parents step up where that may leave defi ciencies in the
learning experience. The same offi cials that put together
budgets with line items for interactive white boards, computer
labs and Internet access, grew up and were educated
without the use of interactive white boards, computer labs
and Internet access. Technology is useful in education, it’s
true, but an organization as large as a school district will
never keep up with the technology at the common student’s
disposal as fast as it advances.
That being said, parents can do more for a school than
just pay taxes. We’ve seen it over the past year — parents
organizing fundraisers, volunteering in classrooms, assisting
with sports programs — and we’d like to see more of it.
Finally, we at The Spotlight will continue in our quest to
be the most discerning source for local news. We constantly
strive to better this newspaper and bring you the coverage
that you deserve, and that will not change this year.
the
Spotlight
Copy Editor — Kristen Roberts
Editorial Paginator — Jackie Domin
Sports Editor — Rob Jonas
Reporters — Sean Ahern, Alyssa Jung,
Ryan Munks, Dan Sabbatino, Charles Wiff
Graphic Design — Martha Eriksen
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Matters of Opinion Spotlight
in the
Publisher — John A. McIntyre Jr.
Tech Valley takes its
place on the world stage
By F. MICHAEL TUCKER
The author is president and
CEO of the Center for Economic
Growth.
2009 will be remembered as
the year when Tech Valley took
its place on the world stage.
Government and business
leaders across the globe
followed the headlines that
announced GlobalFoundries’
ground breaking on its $4.2
billion manufacturing facility.
President Barack Obama’s
visit confirmed Tech Valley’s
place in the world spotlight
and highlighted the success
of our region’s private,
public, education and hightech
economic development
initiatives. In a year that has
been filled with tough financial
reports and predictions, Tech
Valley is an example and
inspiration for the world.
Fifteen years ago, state and
regional leaders envisioned
a scenario in which Upstate
New York would become a
nanotechnology center. Tech
Valley has already surpassed
this vision – through the
Center for Economic Growth’s
collaboration with business,
government and education
stakeholders, our region is
developing into the most
powerful semiconductor center
in the world. There is great
reward and satisfaction in
seeing all that has happened.
But it doesn’t end there.
Visionaries, by definition, never
stop looking to the future; this
is a role that CEG embraces. It
is not enough to promote Tech
Valley and bring new business
enterprises here; if Tech Valley
wants to be a strong participant
in the economy of the future, we
must also commit ourselves to
guaranteeing that an educated
workforce is continually
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Point of View
produced in order to supply
the needs of our technology,
health care and manufacturing
sectors.
President Obama spoke of
the importance of an innovation
economy. Semiconductor
technology is at the core
of every development we
have seen, from drastically
improved automobile mileage
to the incredible strides in
personalized medicine and
targeted cures. Such progress
has created demand for a new
class of workers – those who
understand the fundamentals
of math and science and can
handle increasingly complex
technology manufacturing
tasks.
What will our high-tech
workforce look like? We can
take a look at GlobalFoundries
operation in Dresden, Germany
as an example. Two-thirds of
the employees there have our
equivalent of an associate’s
degree. The other one-third
of GlobalFoundries’ Dresden
workforce is comprised of
engineers, of which only onehalf
have advanced degrees.
Even with this kind of academic
preparation, experts believe
that each employee will need
at least 100 hours of additional
education and training
just to stay up-to-date with
developments in the industry.
This is a key factor that
each of us in Tech Valley must
consider when planning for
workforce development. The
majority of the 1,500 new jobs at
GlobalFoundries’ plant in Malta
will be technicians who work in
a specialized and highly skilled
career field. A great many of
the qualified candidates for
these new positions will come
from our area’s innovative
education programs at our
community colleges, liberal
arts and science colleges and
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our research universities.
The semiconductor
manufacturing industry is
coming of age and wielding
tremendous economic power.
The United States controls
half of the semiconductor
manufacturing in the world,
but there are nations that are
working hard to change that
percentage. Tech Valley’s
semiconductor industry will
without a doubt be a major
driving force in our region’s
economic growth and job
creation – if we provide the
quality workforce that is
required. Our region already
has the elements and ingredients
necessary to provide such
workers; now is the time to
leverage them. We are at a point
where we will lose ground if we
do not seize the opportunity to
excite and educate businesses,
teachers, parents and students
throughout our communities
about the importance of creating
a newly trained and retooled
workforce.
CEG understands that these
efforts are vital if Upstate New
York is going to realize its full
potential in the rapidly expanding
knowledge economy.
As President Obama stated
at his visit to Hudson Valley
Community College, “We know
that nations that out-educate
us today will out-compete us
tomorrow. The ability of new
industries to thrive depends
on workers with the knowledge
and the know-how to contribute
to those fields.”
In 2010, CEG will leverage
its existing relationships
throughout the region to
implement a business-driven
initiative that focuses on both the
short and long term education
and workforce training needs
identified by GlobalFoundries,
GE and IBM, as well as our
local technology, health care
and manufacturing businesses.
The foundations we create now
will be our legacy for future
generations of Tech Valley
businesses and residents.
Spotlight Newspapers welcomes announcements of programs
or events occurring in our coverage area.
All events must be open to the public and announcements
should contain the date, time, location and cost (if any) of the event,
along with contact information. Announcements are published
space and time permitting.
Submissions can be e-mailed to news@spotlightnews.com,
faxed to 439-0609, or mailed to Spotlight, P.O. Box 100, 125 Adams
St., Delmar 12054.
The deadline for all announcements is noon Thursday prior
to publication.
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