News
October 14, 2020Capital Region Construction/Heavy Equipment Program Earns National Honors
The Capital Region BOCES Commercial Construction/Heavy Equipment Program is being recognized nationally for its excellence.
Located on the Schoharie Campus, the two-year program received this week the Associated Equipment Distributors Foundation (AEDF) 5 year Certificate of Excellence certification, recognizing the its commitment to its students and the development of the industry’s workforce.
“The AED Foundation accredits post-secondary equipment technology programs and recognizes high school construction/heavy equipment program to help build a sustainable pipeline of qualified technicians,” the AEDF stated.
It is the second BOCES program to receive such an award in the last month; The Diesel Technology program was recognized in late-September.
The Capital Region BOCES Commercial Construction/Heavy Equipment Program teaches five dozen high school juniors and seniors the knowledge and skills required to enter the construction and equipment operator industries or pursue further education in college or technical school. Students learn everything from equipment operator and maintenance skills to how to construct a building while earning National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) certifications, which are recognized nationwide by contractors and employers, as well as OSHA and first aid certifications.
The AEDF is the leading organization funding industry-specific research to advance the importance of workforce development and it shares the data with legislators, educators and other stakeholder.
“This is a great recognition for teachers Matt Millard and Dave Doherty and our students. It shows the hard we as a community have put into giving our students a bright future,” said Jeff Palmer, Career and Technical Education director.
Millard has overseen the heavy equipment aspect of program for more than a decade while Doherty joined the program this year to teach the construction side.
SUNY Cobleskill Outreach Instructor Ed Wallace said the college’s Agriculture Engineering Department supports the BOCES program and is pleased with the accreditation it helped to facilitate.
“Several students in recent years have come out of the BOCES program and entered the workforce as technicians and equipment operators, several others have gone on to secondary institutions like Cobleskill. What we want to do (through this process and others) is shine a spotlight on the pipeline of school to college or workforce and show there is a way of having a good paying job right in your home community,” Wallace said.
Laborer’s Local 157 Union representative Josh Shaul said the BOCES program graduates students who are well prepared for their jobs and careers.
“The skills BOCES graduates bring to the table helps to provide local union contractors with hard-working employees with a strong educational foundation to better their workforce,” Shaul said.
Students and graduates say the program gives them an edge on life. Take, for example, Class of 2020 Graduate Tanner Adams of Middleburgh who was hired over the summer by Laborer’s Local 157 as a Heavy Highway apprentice.
“I like having a good paying job right out of high school with no debt so I can start focusing on my own life and how to become a successful person not relying on others,” Adams said.
