At the end of an eight-week long course on manufacturing and career building at Clinton Community College a few years ago, there was a sense of nervous anticipation as the seven participants considered  their next steps and prepared to meet with prospective employers at an informal job fair the following  day. One of the students had driven from Westport every day for two months to attend the four-hour  class. Another participant had commuted from Malone and was now considering moving to Plattsburgh if he was able to find employment. Another student, who spoke openly about the barriers to employment because of a past criminal record, said he hoped the class and OSHA certification would lead to a good job and a better future.  

The Assembling Industry: Manufacturing & Education class or AIME, launched in 2010, is a partnership  between ETS Staffing and Recruiting, Clinton Community College’s Institute for Advanced  Manufacturing, and CV-TEC. The initiative is in part an attempt to bridge the gap between a flourishing  manufacturing sector in the area and a shortage of employees heightened by historically low  unemployment rates. According to Deb Cleary, President and CEO of ETS, on any given day there are some 130 to 150 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the Plattsburgh region. 

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