Spools of cable fill the production floor at an East Syracuse broadband manufacturing facility as workers carefully assemble components at their stations. They tried not to be distracted by tour that included a special guest. White House Economic Advisor Dr. Heather Boushey paid a visit Monday to Belden's PPC Broadband facility on Molloy Road. The company received $2.2 million in funding through the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure and Jobs Act.
Boushey wanted to see if the government’s commitment is paying dividends.
“Seeing these investments that are happening and the manufacturing that is being done here and the jobs that are being created here in Syracuse and around the country is an important part of our invest in America agenda.”
Boushey says she learned from a roundtable discussion that Belden is one of many companies across Central New York now able to hire and train a competitive workforce.
“...where you can have enough workers to have a little bit of competition across firms but create that supply chain of workers into those businesses," Boushey said. "We've also learned a lot about the partnerships between this firm and other firms in this area with the economic development entities and importantly with the local education institutions.”
She says when you add workforce training, it’s important to also support the community surrounding that company.
“It's not just about training, it's about having access to good schools and transportation and childcare that makes it possible for this business to thrive.”
In the end, Boushey says supporting domestic production of broadband will ultimately improve access and lead to more economic growth.
