Next Move NY helps soldiers set roots in north country | Fort Drum

WATERTOWN — In a time when there is an abundance of transition assistance to soldiers ending their military service, Next Move NY specializes as a group advocating directly for individual soldiers and the north country.

Founded in 2024, Next Move NY is administered by the Development Authority of the North Country, a New York state public benefit corporation, and focuses on helping soldiers find meaningful post-military employment and stability to aid them in setting roots in the Watertown and surrounding north country areas.

Program administrator Ben Cruz describes Next Move NY’s mission as a “candidate-centric approach, aiding transitioning soldiers from Fort Drum through each step of the process of transitioning from military life to civilian life.”

The importance is placed on the individual, finding what is right for them, what they need moving forward and facilitating ways to make that happen.

Fort Drum is home to up to 15,000 soldiers, the state’s largest single-site employer, and upwards of 3,500 of them finish their military service and leave the north country each year. Retaining some of these soldiers and their families and utilizing their talents and training in the north country is a cornerstone of Next Move NY.

The origin of Next Move NY began with a state-wide challenge issued to each of 10 regions of New York from Empire State Development, a state agency tasked with growing the state economy through business investment and job creation. Each region was charged with identifying a problem in workforce staffing and offering a solution.

The north country has a shortage of workers that grows due to retirements and other various reasons, and Fort Drum has soldiers that are uniquely trained to fill some of these positions, especially as they finish their military service.

Cruz stated that soldiers possess the skills that can fill up to 15 out of the top 20 needed job types in the region. Leaving the military can be a daunting task, however, so Next Move NY serves as a connector to the community outside of the base.

Even in the program’s infancy, Cruz mentioned that the group has managed to help four families establish what he described as “meaningful employment,” implying that families are likely to stay in the area for five, 10, up to 20 years or more.

Next Move NY’s mission has three pillars: Connect, Train, & Embrace. The pillars focus on the steps of connecting soldiers to employers with high-demand positions that need to be filled, training them so they are able to begin doing those jobs, and embracing them in the community so they will want to stay in the area.

Each pillar has elements that cross over to others, such as a career connection facilitating an embrace into the community, and training being used to connect a soldier to a new career, and vice versa.

Sarah Wilder, regional business liaison for Next Move NY, noted that she has had conversations with businesses in the Watertown area, moving east towards Lake Champlain and all the way up to Plattsburgh. Over 150 employers have offered support from a variety of industries, such as law enforcement, medical, technology and lumber.

Next Move NY’s upcoming website will serve as a digital bridge for prospective employers and employees. A primary feature will be a portal to facilitate these connections. The launch is projected by the end of the calendar year.

Along with connecting soldiers to meaningful employment with already established companies, there is room also for those with entrepreneurial aspirations, where Next Move NY can help facilitate introductions, even small office space to operate in downtown Watertown.

Looking into the future, there are also plans for a Veteran Employment Ambassador program, which offers success stories the opportunity to mentor those who face the current worries that they once had. Next Move NY offers the framework to make that connection.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has spoken on the initiative as well, confirming the program’s intent to “create a robust workforce training pipeline to help soldiers and their spouses receive in-demand job training while connecting them with employers, allowing them to thrive, succeed and ultimately stay in the North Country.

The initiative’s initial success has led to a $10 million grant from Round XIII of Governor Hochul’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative, which has attracted interest from companies like Micron to the tune of a $100 billion investment for computer chip manufacturing in central New York. Micron specifically noted “a significant military population” in their rationale for the move.”

DANC has established an office for Next Move NY at 124 Franklin St. in Jefferson Community College’s education and entrepreneurial center, called the Nest, to assist Fort Drum soldiers and spouses with accessing Next Move NY’s offerings.

The Dulles Building on JCC’s Coffeen Street campus is also to be renovated and outfitted as the Next Move NY Vocational Training and Job Readiness Facility, which will enhance offerings at the college and further develop the workforce pipeline for transitioning soldiers and spouses to attain local employment.

Advocate Drum is also planning its Live, Love, Stay Program, which will focus on getting soldiers and families to consider putting down roots in the north country after they separate from service and to build careers and futures in the region.