BINGHAMTON, NY – The SUNY Business and Education Cooperative of the Southern Tier (SUNY BEST) will host a presentation, titled "NYS Department of Labor Business Services and Rapid Response Services," at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in room 220 at Binghamton University’s Downtown Center, 67 Washington St., Binghamton. This presentation is free and open to the public.

Guest speaker Frank Surdey is a Managing Economist for the New York State Department of Labor and a member of the State Agency Resource Team for the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council. He currently directs both statewide programs for the Department of Labor.

With approximately 130 staff members spread across the state’s 10 economic development regions, these programs support business needs in New York and assist businesses facing cutbacks and/or closings. During his talk, Surdey will discuss some of the main components of these two programs including Jobs Express, SMART matching, customized recruitments, Human Resource Consulting, On-the-Job Training (OJT), Shared Work and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

Pre-registration for this discussion is required through the SUNY BEST website at http://ceo.binghamton.edu/sunybest. For additional information, e-mail sunybest@binghamton.edu.

Directional signage to the meeting room will be visible from the Downtown Center’s Washington St. entrance. Parking is available in the Collier St. and Water St. parking ramps (both within two blocks of the Downtown Center), and in any available metered parking spots in front of the building on Washington St. 

SUNY BEST is a volunteer group comprised of senior staff members from key economic and educational institutions in the Southern Tier. The group works to forge strong alliances, strengthen industry specific needs and provide information and outreach for business.