ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Monday, the New York Department of Labor awarded over $1 million in total to four Rochester area organizations: Foodlink, Inc. Apprenticeship Expansion Grant (AEG) Amount: $300,000 Direct Entry Pre-Apprenticeship (DEPA) Amount: $162,000 Eastman Kodak Company Apprenticeship Expansion Grant (AEG) Amount: $285,000 Rochester Tooling and Machining Institute (RTMI)/Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA) Direct Entry Pre-Apprenticeship (DEPA) Amount: $195,000 NYSARC Ontario County Chapter Apprenticeship Expansion Grant (AEG) Amount: $90,000 Apprenticeships have long been associated with the trades, and other industries are adopting them. More workers are changing jobs later in life, and they need the security of a job right away. An apprenticeship, the DOL said, is both paid job training and higher education. Robert Coyne with RTMI said it's good for business too. "The labor market is so tight right now, that businesses are looking for people with training, so for us being able to more qualified candidates, to our members… Is what helps (this industry) grow," he said. This $1 million to the Rochester area is part of $7 million in grants going to similar programs across the state. Roberta Reardon, Commissioner of the DOL, said this is part of the growing DOL statewide effort to bolster apprenticeship programs. "We have hired a new team of navigators, they will go out and work with potential sponsors, walk them through the steps they need to set up their own apprenticeship and be with them as they get it off the ground," she said. Eastman Kodak has seen strong returns from their hiring and renewed apprenticeship programs.Nagraj Bokinkere, VP of Films and Cameras, said they've hired 600 people in the past handful of years, adding that this funding will create 50 new apprentice positions. "It's a difficult program, the level of training that you need to have is quite extensive... If you try to go out and hire for these positions, sometimes you're waiting for more than a year, so you really have to plug that gap, " he said.