NEWINGTON - The continuation and growth of a Connecticut Business Industry Association (CBIA) school/workforce collaboration initiative was listed near the top of education priorities voiced by incumbent legislator Gary Byron-who is running for reelection in the 27th Assembly District.

       â€�"It’s our number one priority,” Byron wrote in an email earlier this week. â€�"[We need to] work to eliminate the gap between employers and job seekers though business and public school collaboration to keep curriculums and needed skills current for the workforce.”

       Byron, who was endorsed by CBIA, released an education platform that aimed at linking Connecticut students with job opportunities in projected growth industries such as STEM and advanced manufacturing, as well as continuing the state’s investment in vocational schools.

       CBIA’s Education and Workforce Partnership is a broad mix of in-school academy programs, internship connections, and informational networks designed to facilitate the development of future employees in clean energy engineering, advanced manufacturing, and construction, among others.

       â€�"Our goal should be encouraging our students to be innovative thinkers today, so they can solve the problems of tomorrow,” Byron wrote.

       CBIA’s Academy for Engineering and Green Technology-based out of Hartford Public-brings an industry-oriented curriculum to the school, while connecting students with business personnel that provide the instruction, according to the CBIA website.

       The Academy also provides students with internship opportunities outside of the classroom.

       Among the Partnership’s goals is the preparation of the advanced manufacturing workforce-slated to face heavy demand in coming years with the exit of retiring employees.

       CBIA’s approach aims at both the student and the educator-with a promotional campaign in both secondary and post-secondary schools, coupled with teacher training programs. CBIA partnered with the Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing (RCNGM) for the initiative, with the hope of directing students to the state’s advanced manufacturing regional training centers-part of a statewide investment in the growth of the industry.

       Of the 246 manufacturing firms responding to a 2014 CBIA survey-out of the state’s 4500 companies-85 percent said that they planned to hire full-time workers in 2015.

       In 2011, that number had been only 30 percent.

       There were around 264,000 new manufacturing jobs created in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.