Finch Paper has a few empty weekend shifts they need to fill in a tight labor market, and their approach to filling them is one the president of SUNY Adirondack thinks might be a good model for other corporations: pay the workers a living wage to work, and cover tuition afterward at the same time.
The paper company on the banks of the Hudson River in downtown Glens Falls will pay up to four SUNY Adirondack students $17.18 an hour to work two, eight-hour shifts on the weekends. At the end of the semester, if the student has worked at least 27 shifts and has passed their classes, they get reimbursed for the semester up to $2,625 for tuition and fees, the cost of a full semester at the community college.
Finch Paper will be at the college’s Queensbury campus on Bay Road, Wednesday Nov. 10, recruiting for the positions.
The shifts are the evening or overnight shifts, two days back-to-back. They are at the lower-end of the job spectrum, the end where the labor shortage has been most keen in the area.
The press release announcing the program says job duties include: housekeeping, transporting and processing off-quality paper, emptying bins, cleaning with high-pressure hoses, assisting production teams, and performing other duties to increase operational efficiency.
"It's unique and great opportunity for the right person,” SUNY Adirondack President Kristine Duffy said in an interview. “We're kind of calling it an ‘Earn and Learn.’"
The advantage for the students she said is they will make a living wage that can cover some or all of their own gas, childcare, food, or other expenses that financial aid doesn’t cover. Also, she hopes it will free up time during the week for homework and other school activities.
At the end of the semester, they get their money back for tuition and fees and yet it keeps them eligible for the financial aid they also need, Duffy said.
(Financial aid can be a tightrope for students to walk. Generally the aid is a limited supply for many students. If they use too much at community college, that portion cannot be used if the student goes on to receive a bachelor’s degree, which is generally more expensive.)
She said it might be a new model for employers to consider, also.
"$2,600 is nothing to onboard a person," Duffy said, comparing the tuition reimbursement to the amount of money a corporation pays to attract, hire, train and then retain a new employee. The reimbusement is a retention incentive.
"I think it could be a recruitment [tool] for the right person," she said.
She said even though the position at Finch Paper is not a high level one, it would offer a person the opportunity to see the industry.
Enrollment in the SUNY system has been declining for years with shifts in demographics, but the pandemic and the lure of much higher wages at jobs that do not require an education has drawn even more students away.
Duffy said she does not fault anyone for going out and working when they can get $20 per hour at a local retail chain or restaurant. She called it a short-term gain over a long-term strategy.
"At some point the need for an educated workforce will supersede that issue," she said adding that this model might help that.
Dennis Gazaille the employee relations manager at Finch Paper said in a statement: “Sure, we need to hire, but we also see this as a great way to help students pay for their education, further strengthening the community and economy we have been part of for more than 150 years.”