ALBANY -  IBM announced a public-private partnership that will prepare thousands of New York students for high-skills jobs of the future in technology, manufacturing, healthcare and finance. In addition, IBM and other companies that participate in the partnership will put the program’s graduates first in line for jobs with these companies.

This partnership was announced as a part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2013-2014 Executive Budget.

“One of New York’s greatest resources and economic drivers is our education system but we must ensure that our schools are adequately equipped to train students for the high-tech jobs of tomorrow,” said Cuomo. “This partnership with IBM will better enable the state to invest in selected school districts throughout the state and prepare students, starting in high school, for high-skill jobs in fields such as manufacturing, technology, finance and health care. Linking our secondary and higher education institutions to the economic development of the region is a logical connection that will greatly improve our work force and help students find jobs directly out of college. I thank IBM for partnering with the state as we work to build a new New York.”

The partnership builds upon the success of IBM’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in New York City.

“Education is key to America’s economic growth and competitiveness. IBM is pleased to be working with New York State, its businesses and its educators to provide students with the deep knowledge, skills and education needed to prepare students for 21st century jobs in areas like analytics and big data,” said Stanley S. Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs at IBM. “Replication and bringing to scale this innovative grade 9 to 14 model across New York State and aligning directly to New York’s economic development regions is exactly the right approach given the current skills crisis.”

Ten innovative schools—one in each of the 10 economic development regions—will participate in this new education model, which incorporates a six year program that combines high school, college and career training. Each student will have the opportunity to graduate with an Associate’s Degree. The goal is to help students prepare for a high-skill, high-demand career in a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) field. This partnership will also help advance the Governor’s Regional Economic Development Strategy since the job training will directly correspond to employment opportunities in the regions.

IBM and other businesses will partner with each participating high school and college to provide guidance on workplace learning, including skills mapping, curriculum, mentoring, worksite visits, internships, and, most importantly, putting the program’s graduates first in line for a job with these companies. IBM will become the key partner for two of the schools.

IBM will also lead the recruitment of private-sector partners for the other regions, and provide training to participating schools/mentors, and share their state-of-the-art “skill-mapping” with all 10 schools and provide tools to help school leaders and teachers effectively integrate STEM into their school programs. Additional partners and resources will be announced in the coming months.