News
September 27, 2018Manufacturing Day Event to Highlight the Value of Business-Education Partnerships
Educators, business leaders, elected officials and students will take part in a press conference and panel discussion next week on business-education partnerships and their value in overcoming the skilled-labor shortage.
The Manufacturing Day panel discussion and press conference will take place Monday, Oct. 1, starting at 8:45 a.m. at the Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) at Mohonasen. The center is located at 400 Warrior Way, Schenectady, NY 12303 (on the Mohonasen High School campus). The event is part of the national Manufacturing Day effort designed to spotlight the importance of the manufacturing sector and the promising career opportunities it offers students.
Demand is skyrocketing for skilled laborers in the manufacturing industry, specifically machinists and computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tool programmers. This comes at a time when the industry workforce is aging and many of its workers are reaching retirement age.
Panelists from Capital Region BOCES, Case Window and Door, Greane Tree Technology, Key Bank, and SUNY Schenectady County Community College will discuss the skilled labor shortage (known as the middle skills gap) and how business-education partnerships are working to provide solutions.
Some of those solutions come in the form of the new Capital Region Pathways in Technology Early High School (P-TECH) programs and other recently launched business-education partnership programs. Through one such partnership, Voorheesville High School senior Chris Zaunter, a student in Capital Region BOCES’ Manufacturing & Machining Technology program, is taking part in a paid internship at Schenectady-based manufacturer Ren Tool & Manufacturing Co.
“I would have never thought I would be going to school and learning and getting paid to do it,” said Zautner, who started his internship last spring and continued it this school year. Zautner was employed full-time at Ren Tool over the summer and will address his partnership experiences as part of the press conference.
Besides the panelists, a full slate of dignitaries will address the value of such partnerships. Among those scheduled to speak are Center for Economic Growth President and CEO Andrew Kennedy, Capital Region BOCES Senior Executive Officer Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D., SUNY Schenectady County Community College President Steady Moono, Mohonasen Central School District Superintendent Shannon Shine and several students.
Officials from Capital Region BOCES work with area businesses to help grow the regional economy. Business Liaison Nancy Liddle and Work-Based Learning Coordinator James Haas field calls daily from businesses looking to hire graduates, and in some cases, current students.
More than 300 businesses partners work with Capital Region BOCES on workforce solutions, whether it be hosting students for internships and work-based learning, or advising faculty and administrators on industry trends and curriculum issues.
The event is hosted by the Mohonasen Central School District and is being coordinated by Capital Region BOCES, the Capital Region Chamber, the Center for Economic Growth, and SUNY Schenectady County Community College.
