Gaining workplace experience is valuable for any student but gaining experience in a workplace you hope to build a career in can be absolutely game-changing.
For students attending the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center, work-based learning is a pivotal part of their education journey and an experience that has launched countless careers.
Because of the partnerships BOCES has forged with businesses, labor unions and governmental agencies, the opportunities for those experiences have increased dramatically in recent years.
During the 2023-2024 school year alone, more than 70 new partnerships were forged – bringing the number of work-based learning locations to well over 100, said James Haas, Capital Region BOCES Work-Based Learning Coordinator.
These new sites include Porsche Clifton Park, Ross Valve Manufacturing Co. and the Albany Police Department, Haas said.
“These are great new partnerships that are building the opportunities for our students,” said Haas, who credits the addition of a second work-based learning coordinator, Mollie Daley, with helping to grow these opportunities.
Throughout the school year, students are placed in the worksites ranging from metal fabricators to hotels and garages. A small percentage of those turn into paid internships, Haas said. Some also lead to offers of future jobs and careers.
Take for example class of 2021 graduate Carrera Meyer-Hill, a student in the Sterile Processing Technician program who was hired at Albany Medical Center upon graduation from BOCES and Mohonasen High School.
“Transitioning from BOCES to Albany Med was smooth,” said Meyer-Hill. “I already knew the scenery and how to do the job, which made me super comfortable because this is a serious job to do at a young age. It was great to get a job I felt good in through BOCES.”
More recently, several members of the class of 2024 turned work-based learning into jobs, including Building Trades graduate Brendon Mazza, who parlayed a work-based learning opportunity that he took part in during the summer between his junior and senior years into a job with the Bricklayer & Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Local 2 Union.
“I am excited because it’s a trade and a good opportunity and career,” said Mazza, who attends BOCES from Cobleskill-Richmondville High School (CRCS).
Also, Cosmetology graduates Lillian White and Marissa Phillips turned work-based learning opportunities at Latham-based Grit + Grace Salon Boutique into post-graduation careers.
“BOCES set me up for success by giving me the basis of knowledge and allowing me to network,” White, a Shenendehowa graduate, said.
Grit + Grace representatives join other business owners in saying they value the salon’s connection with BOCES and the skilled workers it produces for them.
“It’s tough to get people because there are so many options out there,” said salon representative Abbigail Bilow. “But BOCES allows us to find talented people and bring them in.”
Bill May, Service Manager for Capitaland Motors GMC-Subaru, said “BOCES has provided us with quality students to fill a need in this difficult job market, as well as provided an additional education benefit for the students. Hope, Mason and Trevor have a home with Capitaland when their education is complete.”
Daren Gulliver, training director for the BAC, said “there is a huge need for workers in the [construction] industry right now. There are great opportunities for young people with masonry skills, and BOCES is a great resource for finding those young people.”
For information on how to become a business partner or how to host students for work-based learning, contact Capital Region BOCES Managing Program Coordinator-Business & Community Partnerships Nancy Liddle at 518-862-4823 or nancy.liddle@neric.org or go to https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/business-partners/.