Page 15 - Westchester County Economic Development Guide 2013

or every business, from
healthcare and high fashion to
global corporations, success or
failure ultimately comes down
to the people involved and the ideas, skills
and experience they bring with them.
Westchester County is well known as New
York’s Intellectual Capital®, connecting
businesses with the resources they need –
especially human resources.
“What gives NewYork-Presbyterian
Hospital/Westchester Division a
strategic and competitive advantage is
the intellectual and emotional capital
available in the area,” says Sedrick
O’Connor, Director of Human Resources
and Employee Relations. “We have
the best and most dedicated workforce
possible because our employees not only
have exceptional knowledge, skills and
abilities, but they also exemplify our core
values of respect, empathy, excellence and
teamwork.”
Preparing the future workforce requires
an innovative, flexible approach.
Cynthia Rubino, Campus Operating
Officer for Berkeley College’s Westchester
campus, notes the college’s quarter-based
schedule, instead of traditional semesters,
allows a career-changer to earn an
associate’s degree in as little as 18 months.
“Career preparation is where we excel,”
she says. “For us, Intellectual Capital is
the workforce preparation, so when the
county attracts these new employers to the
region, we’re able to fill the jobs.”
All students at Berkeley College – no
matter which major or degree they’re
pursuing – must participate in an
internship that gets them out in the field.
“We want them to know how to function
in the business world – and that includes
everything from fashion to criminal
justice,” Rubino says. “They need to know
how to go to work, how to dress for work
and every aspect of the working world.”
With a laugh, she adds, “Office politics –
that’s a tough lesson!”
Rubino regularly attends business and
civic dinners, taking groups of students
with her. They are given 10 business cards
and told to “work” the room, returning
with 10 business cards of contacts they’ve
met and then following up the next day
with an e-mail thanking their contacts
for taking time to speak to them. Those
contacts often translate into future
internship opportunities.
The college does plenty of its own
networking with the county and The
Business Council of Westchester, making
sure it’s meeting the needs of the business
community.
“Economic development is no longer
about filling real estate,” says Dr. Marsha
Gordon, President and CEO of The
Business Council of Westchester. “Filling
real estate is a byproduct of economic
development and marketing. The people
of the Hudson Valley are a resource – our
workforce is better educated – and that
helps us market the county and grow
businesses in clusters, like the biotech and
food and beverage clusters. We can market
Westchester as having the right talent and
employees. The real key for any company
is having the right talent.”
Intellectual Capital
Economic development is no longer about filling
real estate. Filling real estate is a byproduct of
economic development andmarketing.
F
– Dr. Marsha Gordon, President
and CEO of The Business Council
of Westchester
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