MONTICELLO — SUNY Sullivan and Sullivan County BOCES are planning workforce-training programs to help meet the needs of casinos.
A big part of this will be helping applicants determine what casino-related jobs they're most suited for, and "where they fit in the new economy," college President Karin Hilgersom told the county's Casino Impacts Subcommittee Monday afternoon. She said some of the jobs casinos could create will be ones that require an associate's or even a bachelor's degree.
"We're confident we can meet the needs of the workforce as it changes through casinos and resorts," Hilgersom said.
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The state is expected to grant two casino licenses in the Catskills/Hudson Valley region; there are a dozen applications in the region, four of which are in Sullivan County.
Marc Baez, the head of the Sullivan County Partnership, updated the committee on the efforts to drum up vocal public support for the casinos — local support is part of the formula the state's going to look at. He said they are trying to get as many support letters as possible; soon, he said, they're going to start running radio ads as well.
Legislator Alan Sorenson, the chair of the subcommittee, also briefly touched on the issue of the Industrial Development Agency and tax abatements for casinos, saying the Legislature should discuss the issue soon. Sorenson has been skeptical of giving casinos tax abatements.