Hundreds of high school students from across the Capital Region are touring the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center (CTE) this winter in pursuit of a head start on a career.
Tours for prospective students started the first week of January and continue into March. Students interested in attending a tour should contact their home school district counselors.
Some of the high school sophomores and juniors are looking to explore career options, while others already knew what they wanted to do and were looking for a competitive edge as they explored various programs offered on the campus.
“I want to be a cop. A lot of my family are in law enforcement, and I want to join them and help make the world a better place,” said Makenzie Ryan, a Watervliet sophomore who toured the Criminal Justice program.
A Bethlehem sophomore is looking at a CTE education to provide the recipe to culinary success.
“I’ve always liked cooking, and my grandpa owned a bunch of diners, so it makes sense to me,” said Alex Koutelis as he watched current CTE students dice vegetables.
Bethlehem, Shenendehowa, Watervliet and Schalmont schools were among the districts to take part in the first tours of the winter recruiting season.
Once an education path for those students only seeking vocational skills, career and technical education is now a pathway for students looking to build career skills, get a start on their college education or just learn a life skill that will allow them to pay for college. At the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center, more than 70% of high school students pursue higher education, while many others directly enter the workforce with a highly technical skill set such as cooking, network cabling or operating heavy equipment.
Students in nearly all of Capital Region BOCES’ 27 programs earn certifications and valuable skills while also working in a real-world setting, such as area businesses.
Two new programs are being added for the 2025-26 school year—Plumbing Technology and New Visions: Emerging Technologies—as BOCES opens a third campus. The new campus, the CTE Extension Center, will be located near the current Albany CTE Campus on Watervliet-Shaker Road in Albany.
Enrollment is currently underway for the 2025-26 school year. For more information on career and technical school programs, visit the program page of this website.