BATAVIA — Several Genesee Valley BOCES students have put pen to paper and formally sign up for job shadowing or co-ops with area manufacturing companies.
Students and companies took part Thursday evening in a Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program (FLYAP) “Signing Day” ceremony at Genesee Community College’s BEST Center.
Ty Baker of the Attica Central School District was there to sign with Tambe Electric. He said he may work on Tambe’s line crew after going to lineman school.
“I’m working with them. I’ve been working with them for the past three weeks already. I restarted my co-op. It’ll go until the beginning of June,” he said.
What will he do after the co-op with Tambe Electric ends?
“I’ll probably go to lineman school. I’m signed up for that in Albany. Go get my junior apprentice and then go be a lineman,” he said.
The co-op with Tambe has been going well, Baker said. “I’m loving it. We’re working on industrial electric in a medical facility, actually right here in Batavia. So far, I’ve been doing electrical fabrication, putting up panels, the guts to panel boxes, mounting transformers, stuff like that.”
Bailey Burdett of Attica Central School was about to sign with Nortera Foods, He said he’s been doing a co-op with the company already and that it’s going well. Burdett said the co-op would last probably until the end of May or early June. After that, he wasn’t sure what he would do.
“I don’t know about going to college — maybe electrical trade union,” he said. “I really like working at Nortera.”
FLYAP was created in 2018 and is the first youth apprenticeship program for students interested in manufacturing in the state. FLYAP partners with every BOCES and Career and Technical Education high school throughout the greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region.
“Students from the Genesee Valley BOCES in Batavia are already receiving some of the best career and technical education training in the classroom which is preparing them for the 21st century workforce,” Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA) Director of Workforce Development Rich Turner said in a press release. “The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Programs compliments these students’ classroom training by connecting seniors and juniors to a one-of-a-kind job shadow or paid co-op at manufacturing companies across the region.”
FLYAP is a program of RTMA and is supported by Monroe Community College (MCC) and the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program is also supported with funding from the Rochester Gas & Electric Economic Development Grant and Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
“The students at the Genesee Valley BOCES and our region’s career and technical educational centers are entering the manufacturing and skilled trades workforce with career-ready skills and experiences,” GCEDC Vice President of Business & Workforce Development Chris Suozzi said in the release. “The Youth Apprenticeship Program builds on those experiences with a direct pathway to rewarding careers at our region’s employers.”
The students in FLYAP were Logan Almekinder, Ty Baker, Justin Ball, Colin Bannister, Jack Benstead, Daniel Bialek, Bailey Burdett, Bradley Burdett, Nathan Burger, Thomas Condidorio, Joseph Costa, Jacob Dulski, Wyatt Dziedzic, Geoffrie Eisensmith, Gabe Foster, Ryan Galland, Cory Hanlin, Ryan Higgins, Karli Houseknecht, Wyatt Kaufman, Matthew Kelsey, Tyler Kidder, Alec Kulikowski, Bryce Lathan, Tyler Marino, Robert McCarthy, Hunter Meyers, Evan Piechowiak, Parris A. Price, Jarad Roberts, Evan Schlau, Joshua Schwartz, Dominic Scimia, Brody Swinehart, Ayden Taylor, Aiden Uptegrove, Justin Valyear, Gage Wagner, Hudson Weber, Noah Wheeler.
The companies participating were Coopervision, DP Tool, Gorbel, Graham Corporation, Maris Systems Design, Nortera Foods, Oxbo International, Pro-Tech Sno Pusher, Six Flags Darien Lake, Tambe Electric, Turnbull Heating & Air Conditioning and Upstate Niagara Cooperative.
GV BOCES Batavia Campus Executive Principal Rachel Slobert said the job shadows or paid internships allow students to get real world experience prior to graduation.
“We are so very proud that through Genesee Valley BOCES and our relationships with amazing business partners, students receive experiences that will lead them into successful careers,” she said.
To date, more than 400 high school juniors and seniors and nearly 150 businesses have participate in the program. in addition to the students’ work experiences, most take college level courses at no charge through a dual enrollment agreement between participating schools and MCC. Entering this year, participants have taken more than 350 classes.