Tech Valley Internships is a New York State Department of Labor grant-funded program that began in 2008. It was created to help establish viable and meaningful internship opportunities for high school and college students with businesses and organizations in Tech Valley. A unique partnership of the Workforce Consortium, local workforce and economic development agencies, Tech Valley Internships serves as the experiential connection for students and the business community. The Workforce Consortium is supporting this effort by engaging the regional emerging technology companies to populate the website with internship opportunities and connecting with colleges / universities with strong technology based educational programs.

This initiative is currently training over 300 people with the highly specialized skills and safety & protocol training required to construct a clean room. Workforce Development Institute (WDI), the Workforce Consortium for Emerging Technologies (Workforce Consortium) and industry leader; M+W Zander are working collaboratively to train over 300 local Plumbers and Steamfitters, Electricians and Sheet Metals trades’ people in the construction skills required to build high technology manufacturing facilities such as the proposed Global Foundry plant sited in Luther Forest Technology Campus.

This summer Rensselaer’s National Science Foundation funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center will be conducting our second Nanotechnology Curriculum Development Summer Institute. We hope to have up to 10 regional school districts participate in a three week program that will educate high school science and /or technology teachers in the science of nanotechnology and field tested curriculum modules. This unique professional development opportunity is the result of a collaborative effort between Rensselaer, Washington Saratoga Warren Hamilton Essex BOCES (WSWHE BOCES) and the Workforce Consortium for Emerging Technologies (WCET).