Six-week program provides paid on-the-job training and instruction
Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program students, from left, Kyle Stefan, Alex Matthews
and Trejan Mills run a training module mechatronics equipment during a morning instruction
session during the six-week program in Batavia
Press release/provided photos
BATAVIA, NY – After a meeting with an advisor at Genesee Community College, Kyle Stefan entered the Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program with an open mind.
Stefan, a Pavilion High School graduate, believes he made the right decision to join the Batavia based workforce program well before the six weeks of paid on-the-job training and instruction were complete.
“I would have never found my passion for a career in HVAC if it wasn’t for the pre-apprenticeship program,” said Stefan, one of ten students graduating on August 24. There’s no way to know if there is something you like to do without trying. I am able to apply what I learn in a classroom setting to my work at Arctic Refrigeration and find out this is a career I would like to pursue.”
For the third consecutive year, the Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program has welcomed students from diverse backgrounds, levels of education, and career experiences with an opportunity to jump start successful careers.
During the program, participants attend morning classes in the Genesee Valley BOCES classroom, training with $700,000 of mechatronics equipment funded in part by a Genesee County Economic Development Center grant. In the afternoons, and for a full day on Fridays, students apply the lessons they learn at employers in Genesee, Livingston, and Monroe counties.
“I really enjoyed the freedom to use the equipment and materials to build things and you learn and go at your own pace,” said participant Bradley Burdett.
“I would recommend this program to anyone because there are a lot of opportunities. It’s beyond just a classroom education as we are learning and experiencing life lessons.”
Burdett, an Attica High School graduate, enrolled in the program on the recommendation of
program instructor Rich Monroe after teaching Bradley for two years at BOCES.
With student participation at Genesee Valley BOCES increasing since the launch of GLOW with
Your Hands in 2019, Genesee County Economic Development Center Vice President of
Business and Workforce Development, Chris Suozzi, sees the program as the next step in
empowering students to take the future into their own hands.
“The pre-apprenticeship program offers a unique opportunity for students to discover their career path without the burden of college debt,” said Suozzi.
“The jobs this program introduces students to provides them with a promising opportunity to enter into the workforce in the in-demand careers in our region.”
The Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program has grown annually since its inception in 2021. This year’s students joined pre-apprenticeship tracks at USG, Arctic Refrigeration, Turnbull Heating and Refrigeration, Radec Electric, Go Forth Electric, and OXBO.
Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program students, from left, Darlene Robare-Kessler and Katlyn Day run a training module on mechatronics equipment during a morning instruction session during the six-week program in Batavia.
The program and experience with Radec Electric has supported a career-change for Darlene Robare-Kessler of Fairport. Robare-Kessler said she appreciates the safe learning environment and mix of classroom and real job experience.
“I love the hands-on aspects of working with manufacturing equipment and the program has helped align my experience in the food and beverage industry giving me another side of the manufacturing industry to explore, said Robare-Kessler. (The program) is empowering me to gain practical skills that I will be able to utilize within the workplace and hopefully throughout my career.”