News
Mohonasen, SCCC officials present possible partnership to Congressman Tonko
Machining program would benefit area high school and college students, fill local job need
Nov. 9, 2011
Congressman
Paul Tonko visited Mohonasen on Monday, Nov. 7 to talk to officials
from the district and Schenectady County Community College about
plans for a joint machining program that are in their early stages.
Local business leaders were also in attendance.
The vision is for a program that would offer local high school and college students access to hands-on experience and job training, said Mohonasen Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Patrick McGrath. The program would be housed at Mohonasen High School, he said, and it would fill a specific need for training that would help companies in the immediate area and beyond fill job openings.
“The average person thinks manufacturing jobs have all gone overseas. We’re finding out that’s not true,” said Gerry Garing, Mohonasen science and technology administrator.
Representatives from local industry spoke about the need for more skilled workers to fill jobs throughout the Capital Region.
“I have a dream and I have a vision to keep manufacturing alive in America,” said Eileen Guarino of Greno Industries in Scotia. “The talent pool in this area is very small.”
Dave Shape of Allendale Machinery, which makes and sells machines for Haas Automation, said that 15 years ago there were plenty of qualified applicants for openings at the company. But today, that’s just not the case.
The machines, he said, can cost anywhere between $60,000 and $1 million.
“You really have to know what you are doing,” he said about the people he hires, pointing out that the jobs needing to be filled are for skilled technicians who are educated.
“We owe it to future generations to make this happen,” Sharpe said of the Mohonasen/SCCC partnership and programs like it. “Just the fact that we’re all here is a sign we’re on the right track.”
Matt
Grattan, Executive Director for Workforce Development at SCCC, said
that the potential joint machining program fits perfectly with the
goal of the college and the greater SUNY system of creating and
sustaining programs that can assist in economic revitalization in
the Capital Region.
The community college, he said, would like to create non-credit and credit-bearing programming that will produce workers ready to meet the needs of local manufacturing firms. One problem they have, he said, is a lack of space for a machining program on the college’s campus.
Space is one of the things Mohonasen has. McGrath pointed to plans for an Engineering and Technical Trades Center at Mohonasen High School. The center, which has been part of the district’s long-range plan, calls for flexible learning spaces that could adapt and change as technology changes. The rooms would provide for both pre-engineering and technical training.
The idea for this partnership grew from the relationship between Mohonasen and Greno Industries. Last year, Mohonasen senior Kyle Young interned at Greno. He went on to study machining at Hudson Valley Community College, with the support of Greno, and plans to return to the company for a full-time job after completing his education. This year, Tyler Tessitore is following in Kyle’s footsteps.
However, Tessitore said he would love be able to stay in Schenectady County and complete his education at SCCC.
“I just thought it was really interesting I could take a piece of metal and go over to a machine and make something useful,” he said.
SCCC President Quintin Bullock called the possibility of working with Mohonasen a “win-win.” As did Congressman Tonko, who said he was deeply impressed with the ideas being presented.
“You’re all creating the churning and the stretching that ought to be part of any part of our lives,” Tonko said, calling the Mohonasen/SCCC partnership a worthy investment.
“No country can stay strong if it ignores the investments that are required to move forward,” he said. “We can be competitive in the global market scene if we do it smarter.”
Although plans for the machining program are in their early stages, district and college officials said they wanted to ensure that the congressman was aware of them in the event that funding became available for a cooperative workforce and economic development initiative like what is envisioned. Officials plan to continue meeting to develop the vision and the steps to move it forward in the midst of the challenging economy.
