The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Students get look at trades
VERONA, N.Y. » More than 300 middle schoolers from 18 Central New York school districts converged at the Madison- Oneida BOCES for Construction Careers Day to learn more about the trade careers and opportunities waiting for them upon graduation.
Students had the opportunity to try their hand at welding, bending EMT conduit for electric work, operate cranes, practice safety ropes for loggers, operate heavy machinery, work side by side with masons, and more. Additionally, students had the opportunity to pick the brains of experts in their respective fields during the four-hour event.
No matter what trade, the professionals preached two major
things to students: safety and the abundance of opportunity that awaits students who elect not to attend college or university.
“Not everybody wants to go to college. The trades are a great alternative, a career with benefits. When I retire, I know I’ll be taken care of,” said Local 43 IBEW electrician Rich Shopland.
Shopland explained how following an aptitude test, perspective electricians who do well on the tests are invited back for interviews in front of a review board. Following that, if an individual is selected as an apprentice, they spend the next five years, earning while they learn. A typical apprentice’s week consists of four work days and one day in the classroom with three full-time and eight-part time instructors. Once those initial five years are up, the apprentice turns into a journeyman. As a journeyman, and upon completion of a five year contract with the IBEW, an individual can ply their trade anywhere in the United States and Canada.
“It’s a career, not a job,” Shopland said after giving students a demonstration on bending EMT (electrical metallic tubing) and giving them a chance to try it out.
And as Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer county students rotated their way through the impressive array of displays, demonstrations, and informationals, both professionals and BOCES educators stressed the feasibility of careers in trades, especially in the CNY area.
“Our region has a thriving construction and manufacturing industry, and employers routinely tell us they need more skilled labor. We want students to see the opportunities available to them in these fields at a young age, when they begin exploring careers, so they see construction and manufacturing as viable pathways,” said Erin Noto, CTE Principal at MOBOCES.
Herkimer BOCES in- structor Adam Spatto helped facilitate welding exercises during Construction Careers Day. Welding practice was divvied up between two stations, one where students could practice welding via a computer program in a safe environment and a live welding station where students were able to try the real thing.
“[ The computer program] is a nice way to give kids hand-eye coordination before real welding. It’s a nice way to get their feet wet, an easier way to pick up the basics in a safe environment,” Spatto said.
When asked about the need for local welders, Spatto’s response was near instantaneous. “There’s a huge shortage of welders right now. You can start a whole career on just welding.”
Mathew Ellinger, a Rome student, was particularly taken by the welding display.
“I’m quite interested,” he said fromhis welding simulator station. “I plan to work my way over to real welding.
MOBOCES and two sister BOCES centers – Oneida BOCES in New Hartford and Herkimer BOCES in Herkimer – have partnered for the third year to collaboratively host this major regional event for area seventh graders. This is the first year this event will be held at MOBOCES.