Building WNY, free college tuition for future skilled trades workforce
The construction industry needs qualified workers. As a result, businesses, educators, and New York State officials have merged efforts to help close the skills gap in building trades, electrical, HVAC and plumbing.
This school year, high school freshmen from five distinct school districts have enrolled in a grant-funded program that will provide an all-tuition-paid associate degree from SUNY Erie Community College. The New York State Pathways in Technology (NYS P-TECH) program is a public-private partnership that prepares thousands of New York students for future high-skills jobs in technology, manufacturing, healthcare, and finance. Recently, a $2.7 million NYS P-TECH grant was awarded to a Western New York consortium organized by Erie 1 BOCES. Cheektowaga Central School District will be the lead educational agency for this grant that will also extend to Cheektowaga Sloan, Cleveland Hill, Maryvale, and Depew. Students from these five school districts will attend P-Tech Build with classes at Erie 1 BOCES and SUNY Erie from grade 9 through to grade 14.
It is projected that more than 120 students will participate in this effort to learn the construction industry from 2020-2026, which is when the grant ends.
“This is a school within a school model that merges high school, college and work-based learning,” said Anedda Trautman, director of career and technical education for Erie 1 BOCES. “When business partners provide mentoring and support, their involvement helps the teens see how their academics and skills are relevant to the workforce.”
Businesses who are currently involved in the program include Brawdy Construction Inc.; Isaac Heating and Air Conditioning; Lehigh Construction Group Inc.; Construction Exchange of Buffalo & WNY, Inc.; Buffalo Construction Consultants; LeChase; Frey Electric Construction Co.; MJ Mechanical Services, Inc.; Tri R Mechanical Services, Inc.; Local 3 International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. According to the grant’s directions, the list of business partners may continue to grow.
“A shortage of skilled workers remains one of the top challenges facing the construction industry,” said Joseph Benedict, executive director for the Construction Exchange of WNY. “We are fortunate to work with great partners like Erie 1 BOCES to prepare individuals for successful and rewarding careers in construction.”
Initially, the students will spend their time at Erie 1 BOCES Potter Career & Technical Center, where they will receive core academics and skilled trades training. Students will begin taking college courses in 10th grade.
“Students who complete our program graduate with an associate degree and the training that is necessary to receive industry recognized certifications," said Lori Smith, P-TECH supervisor for Erie 1 BOCES. “What makes the P-TECH unique to other BOCES CTE programs is that students start in 9th grade versus the traditional 11th and 12th grade sequence.”
This is Erie 1 BOCES’ third NYS P-TECH grant. The cooperative is excited to replicate its model for another skilled trades industry.
“We’ve been using a similar model with the automotive and healthcare industry,” said Trautman. “This initiative would not have been possible without the leadership and commitment of our participating school districts.”
Erie 1 BOCES second grant titled P-TECH RACE (Race to Automotive Excellence), also in partnership with Erie Community College, was awarded in the spring of 2018, with its first cohort enrolled in the fall of that year. P-TECH RACE focuses on the transportation industry with a heavy focus on Auto Tech and Collision. In the 2020-2021 school year, Potter Career & Technical Center accepted its third cohort of students reporting from Hamburg, Frontier, West Seneca and Lackawanna, with expanded opportunities for students from Cheektowaga, Maryvale, Depew and Cleveland Hill. P-TECH RACE business partners include Basil Family Dealerships; Gabe’s Collision; Auto Collison & Glass; Carubba Collision; West Herr Automotive Group; Northeast Collision; Northtown Automotive Companies; Towne Automotive Group; Fisher Auto Parts and the Niagara Frontier Automotive Dealers Association - which represents more than 175 automotive dealerships in WNY.
“P-TECH RACE allows a direct pipeline for our local transportation industry that didn’t exist in this capacity prior to this grant,” said Paul Stasiak, president of Niagara Frontier Automobile Dealers Association.
Residents of the Cheektowaga, Cheektowaga Sloan, Maryvale, Depew, and Cleve-Hill school districts can learn more about the program and its enrollment requirements by speaking with their child’s middle school counselor.
About Erie 1 BOCES
As part of public education, Erie 1 BOCES offers a variety of career and technical programs during the regular school day to high school students in Erie County. High school students interested in learning more about how they can participate in various programs such as automotive, web and gaming technologies, health careers or aviation technology, should visit www.e1b.org/cte or speak with their high school counselor.