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Voices August 16, 2019

As workforce development evolves, childcare shall lead

By ROSALIE DRAGO // At a recent Long Island Regional Development Council meeting, co-chairman and Long Island Association President Kevin Law earned rousing applause when he said, “Childcare is not a mother’s problem or a parent’s problem – it is an economic-development problem and our region’s problem.” As a workforce-development professional, a parent and a Long Islander, this was good to hear. It’s tempting to see childcare as a value-add, especially now. Current job market…

Voices August 9, 2019

Physician recruitment: Money talks, but lifestyle rules

By ROBERT GLAZER // Recruiting and maintaining top talent defines a company and the quality of its services – and nowhere is that more apparent than in healthcare, where physician shortages remain a primary concern. By investing heavily in recruitment, medical practices across the country can ensure that they obtain and maintain the best of the best. Experience shows that today’s doctors value more than just compensation, though finances are definitely a key part of…

Voices August 2, 2019

As SAT-prep costs soar, a classroom-based solution

By HARRY AURORA // If this spring’s much-publicized college admissions scandal highlights anything, it’s that competition to get into the nation’s top schools is fierce, with the cost of admission seemingly as high as the price of matriculation. Extreme examples aside, it’s no secret that college preparation favors the wealthy. Private instruction and tutors provide a competitive advantage to students and families who can afford them; some tutors’ rates start at $1,000 per hour, and…

Voices July 26, 2019

Trust fading, brand reps bank on Social Responsibility

By DAVID CHAUVIN // For a professional communicator, nothing is more important than trust. Have it, and your message can be powerful and effective; lose it, and, well, your career might be over. But it’s not that simple. Trust – specifically, how to maintain it – is a complicated subject in 2019. Our country is characterized by a stubborn, entrenched polarization that encourages us to label any media outlet, personality or influencer espousing different viewpoints…

Voices July 19, 2019

Don’t be ‘that guy,’ wine-taster – sip, spit like a pro

By AMBROSE CLANCY // You’ve seen him – and it’s almost always a him – sitting at a restaurant table with a glass of wine. As the waiter stands holding a bottle, our man shakes and swirls the wine into a whirlpool, then sticks his nose into the glass and inhales as if drawing his last breath. He sips some wine, his cheeks puff out, he propels the wine around his mouth and then –…

Voices July 12, 2019

To avoid legal pitfalls, startups need the right guides

By EUGENE BARNOSKY // Chances are, as you prepare to launch your startup company, you will be eager to attack and complete the projects on your to-do list: draft a business plan, build a website, design a workspace, create a logo, brand your company, all tasks that most new entrepreneurs undertake with enthusiasm. But many overlook the legal issues that could be critical to a smooth takeoff. Maybe because they don’t stir the creative juices….

Voices June 28, 2019

‘Manifesto’ destiny: colorblind economic development

By ROSALIE DRAGO // Cities across the nation are committing to an “Equity Manifesto,” not just as a matter of social fairness but a matter of economic survival. Equity and inclusion, as they relate to economic development, mean ensuring that all people can fully participate in the creation of socioeconomic growth – and fully share in its benefits. So, as Long Island’s demographics shift and minority populations grow, where are we on this? According to…

Voices June 21, 2019

It’s summer, and educational inequities are widening

By HARRY AURORA // Everyone loves summer vacation. But it’s vital that school districts and parents acknowledge the consequences of taking an extended period of time away from learning. Multiple studies have supported that a “summer slide” truly exists. Over the course of a typical summer, the average student loses more than two months of math and reading skills and one month of overall learning – and it can take up to two months for…

Voices June 14, 2019

Focused ‘placemaking’ would fill LI’s work/life needs

By PHIL RUGILE // Anyone who follows initiatives like downtown revitalization has likely come across the term “placemaking.” This refers to spaces created for specific purposes, usually capitalizing on a local community’s assets and potential. In practical terms, it means we can create places that attract millennials, spaces that address work/life issues, options that are compelling to transit-oriented commuters, whatever we might need. The concept absolutely applies to business incubators and co-working spaces. Urban areas…

Voices June 11, 2019

In apple cider, a hard life with sweet rewards

By AMBROSE CLANCY // You know cider, right? That’s the stuff in plastic jugs you buy at a supermarket or a roadside stand out east when the leaves begin turning in October. When you’re home, you take a taste and begin wondering how to spell “hyperglycemia” so you can immediately Google it. It goes in the refrigerator, and before Thanksgiving has turned cloudy and vile. Right? No, you don’t know anything about cider. Americans are…

Voices May 31, 2019

Giving the LI innovation economy plenty of STEAM

By ROSALIE DRAGO // Employers in technical trades lament the loss of “shop” class and its hands-on maker skills. Business owners complain that candidates possess minimal work experience. But there is tremendous work-readiness power in STEAM – enough to fuel a 21st century workforce. Beginning in elementary school, education institutions are using STEAM (for science, technology, engineering, arts and math) to contextualize core classroom subjects in a way that aligns with skills required by the…

Voices May 24, 2019

To ensure college success, level the HS academic field

By HARRY AURORA // Education is the cornerstone of success, a college degree is paramount and K-12 schools are committed to doing everything possible to help students excel at the college level. It appears to be working: National high school graduation rates are among the highest they’ve ever been. But accommodating for the wide range of variables that exist for every individual student is never easy, and requires significant resources that may not be available…

Voices May 17, 2019

To keep talent coming, tech must fill its own pipeline

By PHIL RUGILE // Workforce development in tech? Not as easy as it sounds. My workforce muse, Rosalie Drago, has in this very column touched on the concept that apprenticeships belong in every industry – but in fact, they’re still viewed mainly as benefits only in trade occupations. You often hear of someone “apprenticing as a plumber.” But when talking about a software developer getting on-the-job training as a “junior” developer, the term “apprentice” would…

Voices May 3, 2019

With jobs waiting, Island must master apprenticeships

By ROSALIE DRAGO // Apprenticeship is one of the most powerful weapons we have to advance Long Islanders, regional business and the local economy. It’s time to deploy it. At a time when many employers report a lack of skilled workers, employer-led training – which develops workplace skills based on the latest industry practices, while incorporating related classroom instruction – is being promoted and supported on federal and state levels as a fix for widening…

Voices April 26, 2019

Books, online learning key to battling ‘summer slide’

By HARRY AURORA // Longer days, warmer weather and the approach of summer vacation excite students, but many educators and parents worry about the toll that long break from school can have on academic gains students worked hard to achieve. Dubbed the “summer slide,” the time spent away from the classroom can be especially hard on students in lower socioeconomic areas that lack the same opportunities as their wealthier counterparts (access to private tutors, summer…