News & Press Releases

“Talent is absolutely critical,” said Rob Leteste, the business intelligence and workforce manager at Invest Buffalo Niagara, which on Thursday released a report detailing the region’s workforce needs. “You hear it all the time.”

The communities that understand their workforce and assets, and how to best utilize them for employers and residents will be most successful. These reports help us chart a path forward, with concrete, actionable recommendations.

Central to Northland’s success at recruiting, retaining and graduating students, Tucker says, is a strategy focused on catering to the needs of what he calls “marginalized populations.” For that, Tucker says he drew upon established best practices and his academic background in organizational development.

“We call our students ‘customers,’” he says. “Most community colleges don’t do that. As a matter of fact, after their students pay their money, they’re basically just a number.” Not so at Northland.

“What we’re doing,” he says, “is embedding wraparound services with our delivery of technical training. Those wraparound services include assistance with transportation, mental health, food, housing and childcare. Those are the extra resources our customers wouldn’t have access to traditionally.

Buffalo is one of America’s favorite cities to visit, and for remote workers, it’s also a great place to live. Buffalo’s history and charm make it fun to explore in the summer, and you’ll love staying home to telecommute in your slippers during the long, snowy winters.

Buffalo’s remote workers have about ten favorite haunts, including coffee shops and coworking spaces. One top-rated space is Dig at Innovation Center Buffalo, a multi-use space that encourages creative collaboration.

Thomas Kucharski has led a series of transformative initiatives since joining Invest Buffalo Niagara well over two decades ago, including building a research department with cutting-edge mapping capabilities through the Buffalo Niagara Commercial Listing System. At the helm of the economic development organization, which represents Western New York’s eight counties, Kucharski has garnered $4.4 billion in investment as president and CEO. Over 42,000 jobs have been created or retained under his leadership.

Should we consider Buffalo to be a climate haven as certain parts of the country become uninhabitable? “There is no place that will avoid the negative impacts of climate change,” says Ryan McPherson, University at Buffalo’s chief sustainability officer. “But the types of threats that we experience here, I’ll take those over tornadoes, supersaturated climate-induced hurricanes, and wildfires that are the most destructive because you have the least prepping time.”

The former Albright-Knox Art Gallery, now named the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, will reopen to the public on May 25, 2023, with a vastly renovated and expanded campus designed by the OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu.

A $20 million commitment from New York State, announced Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, completes the Buffalo museum’s $230 million capital campaign, believed to be the largest for a cultural institution in the history of western New York.

“Kucharski called Edwards’ announcement a vote of confidence in the region, not only in the STAMP site but also its resources like the region’s colleges, its workforce, the availability of low-cost power and an ample water supply.”

“This major investment from Edwards Vacuum builds on our momentum to secure New York as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing,” Governor Hochul said. “On the heels of Micron’s $100 billion commitment to Central New York, as well as New York’s Green CHIPS legislation and the federal CHIPS and Science Act, we are better positioned than ever to make New York a global hub for advanced manufacturing and attract the jobs of the future. I am thrilled to welcome Edwards Vacuum to Genesee County and look forward to working with them, as well as our local, state, and federal partners, as they make New York their home.”