Summit eyes future of jobs on Long Island

Long Island business and academic leaders and government officials Tuesday launched a new effort aimed at preparing high school and college students for the workforce of the future, which will focus more and more on sciences and technology.

About 250 people attended the so-called Long Island STEM Hub Summit at Farmingdale State College, a session that was described as an initial step toward bolstering the Island's future through an emphasis on the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Brookhaven National Lab in Upton and the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City are to head up the effort, which will focus on connecting businesses and educational institutions so each will learn the others' needs.

"Frankly, the strategy is not fully developed," Ken White, manager of BNL's office of education programs, told the gathering. But the organizers will soon form a "board of champions" made up of senior business and academic leaders who will work on strategies.

Roger Tilles, a Woodbury-based developer and New York State Regent, talked of urgency.

"This is no longer New York versus California or Connecticut" for jobs and businesses, Tilles said. "We are living in a global time. If we don't beef up what we're doing with STEM, we're really going to be in trouble."

Keynoter Joseph Cabral, a senior human resources vice president at North Shore-LIJ Health Systems in Manhasset, described the session as "a call to arms" and asked educators and business executives to focus on how their organizations are responding to the need for more scientists and technology workers.