Picente Launches Remote Work Recruitment Program

‘Reconnect Oneida County’ Aims to Attract Remote Workers

County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. today unveiled his Reconnect Oneida County initiative that aims to attract remote workers to live and work in the area and catalyze the growth of the region.

“This pandemic has not only altered our daily life, it has dramatically changed the way businesses are utilizing their workforces,” Picente said. “We can build on our growth by seizing upon this shift, such as the ability for people to work remotely from anywhere. Oneida County is poised to serve all of their needs and provide the ideal place to live, work and play.”

The goal of Reconnect Oneida County plan is to make Oneida County a premiere destination for remote workers. The first target is to attract individuals who were born and raised regionally to return home by leveraging the area’s assets and showcasing its high tech opportunities and high and affordable quality of life.

“I believe that many of the people who left our area over the past decade for education or opportunity, will be excited by our tremendous progress and the chance to reconnect – proving you can home again,” Picente said.

This includes high tech research and development institutions that are second-to-none, such as: Cree, Danfoss, Masonic Medical and Research Institute; Oneida County’s UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport (one of just seven designated by the FAA in the U.S.); SUNY Polytechnic Institute; the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)-Information Directorate and several national business leaders in cybersecurity and the national defense sector.

Partnering with the Mohawk Valley Community College thINCubator, the AFRL-Information Directorate and the Griffiss Institute, which will soon have a new home at the state of-the-art Innovare Advancement Center at Griffiss International Airport, the county will highlight amenities attractive to the remote worker by creating a niche marketing campaign and website detailing the program and promoting our region.

“The AFRL Information Directorate is pleased to be a part of the Reconnect Oneida County Program,” said AFRL Information Directorate Deputy Director Michael J. Hayduk. “Rome Lab has long been recognized as the centerpiece of the growing high-tech ecosystem in the Mohawk Valley. The Lab has hired over 150 scientists, engineers and skilled support staff over the course of just the last three years in support of our mission in information technology including command, control, communications, computers, intelligence and cyber and is always looking for new talent to add to our workforce.

“The launch of the Innovare Advancement Center, which is a partnership between Rome Lab, New York State, Oneida County, the City of Rome, the Griffiss Institute, NYSTEC and SUNY will drive new partnerships in the game-changing areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum, cyber and unmanned aerial systems further accelerating technology and talent development.”

Reconnect Oneida County will utilize hand-picked hometown ambassadors who will work with potential applicants to connect them with our growing intellectual and high tech assets in the area, assist in relocation services, identify possible financial incentives and engage them with desirable co-working space that will enable them to link up with like-minded individuals.

“We’re thrilled to see Oneida County launch this program to highlight the area’s outstanding innovation resources and business culture,” said Frank DuRoss, MVCC Vice President for Community Development & Executive Director of the MVCC Foundation. “The Oneida County community’s incredible vibrancy and cultural diversity was a major inspiration that led us to launch the thINCubator in the center of downtown Utica – and today, we’re proud to offer a world-class work experience that matches the area’s richness of life and recreation opportunities.

“Our co-working space is flexible, collaborative, equipped with technology resources, and offers a dynamic, productive professional environment for remote working. For those seeking entrepreneurial assistance, we offer an aggressive acceleration program, coaches and mentors with exceptional expertise, networking and collaborative collisions with a diverse entrepreneurial community, and so much more. The thINCubator has helped hundreds of young professionals advance their careers, build their professional networks, expand their small businesses, and launch new ventures. We’re excited to partner with Oneida County to share these resources and welcome professionals back home to our region.”

The next phase of Reconnect Oneida County will target workers from high-growth industry clusters found in other states, which are also growing in our region, and recruit those who have the ability to work remotely to move here.