NY Governor Unveils ON-RAMP Program: $200M for Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) program, a workforce development initiative which the state is supporting with $200 million in funding. Under the ON-RAMP program, New York will create four training centers in upstate regions, with one of the centers slated for location in Syracuse, and the other three open to competitive bidding.

The program has six other designated regions in mind for the new training centers, information about which is available here. Eligible applicants must be consortia led by organizations such as nonprofits, municipalities, and public community colleges/vocational training institutions. Ultimately, the state aims to ensure that ON-RAMP centers will be financially self-sustaining within five years of their establishment.

Governor Hochul’s administration will likely prioritize applicants that can help bolster New York’s major manufacturing investments from the last several years, which have primarily focused on the intersection between semiconductor manufacturing and the defense sector. One of the centerpieces of that broad effort is a strategic partnership between Lockheed Martin and chips giant GlobalFoundries, announced in June 2023.

3D printed wire harness from a Q5D printer. The venture capital arm of Lockheed Martin, a major driver of advanced manufacturing activity in New York State, recently invested in Q5D. Image courtesy of Q5D

In a press release about New York’s $200 million in funding for advanced manufacturing workforce development, Governor Hochul said, “New York’s economic competitiveness is the result of our extraordinary workforce, striving everyday to innovate, create and push the boundaries of what is possible. My ON-RAMP program marshals resources to our Upstate communities to catalyze investments in manufacturing — and it’s already delivering for New Yorkers with tens of thousands of new jobs in the industries of the future coming right here to our state.”

New York Assemblymember Al Stirpe said, “I am deeply appreciative of the effort behind Governor Hochul’s $200 million ‘ON-RAMP’ program, which will make a significant investment in job training to support these careers and strengthen our region for years to come. With Micron’s arrival in the district, this focus on advanced manufacturing education is more essential than ever as we embrace the opportunities within the semiconductor industry.”

While this is by no means exclusively an additive manufacturing (AM) industry opportunity, the announcement nonetheless dovetails nicely with my analysis of the potential tailwinds that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut may provide for AM stakeholders in the US. Specifically, I argued that the Fed’s pivot in focus from inflation to the labor market may signal further support on the horizon for manufacturing workforce development in the US.

Workforce development represents a significant opportunity for the AM industry simply in terms of the ease with which curricula surrounding AM processes can be devised and deployed. Moreover, any prospective consortium hoping to leverage AM for an ON-RAMP center has an increasing number of up-to-date examples to turn to, including EOS’ recent launch of its physical campus for its Additive Minds program.