Signing day an opportunity
Local students accept skilled jobs ahead of graduation
Without a penny of college debt, 16 local students accepted well-paid, skilled jobs Thursday that they’ll start as soon as they graduate from high school.
Amid growing criticism about the cost of college and increasing demand for skilled jobs that aren’t taught in four-year college programs, apprenticeships are making a comeback.
School and labor officials used to call apprenticeships an “alternative to higher education.” That’s the wrong way to characterize it, Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said.
“It’s another way to earn your ticket,” she said. “They have skills and they haven’t had to pay for it.”
She also said more employers should hire high school graduates and train them.
“Everywhere I go, business owners say, ‘I can’t find the skilled workers I need.’ This is how you do it,” she said.
“And it’s a great way to diversify your workforce.”
She cheered on the students as they formally accepted their first career jobs during the Capital Region BOCES Signing Day, which mirrors the highly publicized day some high school athletes get when they announce what college team they’re joining.
There was no shortage of employers eager to offer apprenticeship-style jobs to the teenagers, who have spent two years in BOCES technical programs, learning skills ranging from carpentry to machining. Union representatives noted the students will receive competitive pay and benefits.
Allison Umstadter, 18, of Scotia, was one of only two women in this year’s graduating class. She accepted a job at Greno Industries, where she has been working as a machinist since November. Almost all of the students have been working for their chosen employer for months, getting on-the-job training before their job offer.
Umstadter is the only woman machinist at Greno. She chose the job because she loves the feeling of making things with her own hands, she said.
Greno human resources manager Patrisia Sheremeta added that Umstadter impressed everyone with her skills and selfpossession from the start.
“She walks in, only woman on the production flood, half their age, and she’s earned their respect because she has the skills,” Sheremeta said.
Sheremeta hires every machinist she can find. There are projects Greno can’t take because it doesn’t have enough machinists.
“At this point, if you want a good machinist, you’re going to have to grow your own,” she said. “If you don’t start now, in 10 or 15 years you won’t have a business because you’ll have no one to run the machines.”
Also hiring high schoolers Thursday was Albany Medical Center, which snapped up Joe Lawyer, 18, of Schoharie. He’s been working in the sterile processing unit for a year and was thrilled to get a job offer.
“Fantastic. It’s a little relieving,” he said.
Lawyer cleans surgical tools so they’re ready for the next surgery. He wanted to work in the medical field because it’s a way to help people, he said. While he works at Albany Med, he will also take courses at Hudson Valley Community Collect to get a radiology technologist certificate.
Reardon hopes more students take note of these students’ success at getting well-paid jobs immediately after graduation.
“Everybody’s going to need post-secondary training, but not everyone needs four years postsecondary,” she said. “Apprenticeship is a system that’s been around since the Middle Ages.”