The students matched with apprenticeship programs from local companies are all "first-round draft picks," said Chris Souzzi, VP of business and workforce development for the Genesee County Economic Development Center, on Tuesday at a signing celebration.

Press release:

The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program (FLYAP) held its annual “Signing Day” ceremony at the Genesee Community College’s BEST Center on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Nearly 40 students from the Batavia Campus of the Genesee Valley BOCES signed up for job shadows and paid co-ops at a dozen advanced manufacturing companies in the region.

“Students from the Genesee Valley BOCES in Batavia are already receiving some of the best career and technical education training in the classroom which is preparing them for the 21st-century workforce,” said Rich Turner, RTMA Director of Workforce Development. “The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Programs compliments these students’ classroom training by connecting seniors and juniors to a one-of-a-kind job shadow or paid co-op at manufacturing companies across the region.”

The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program was created in 2018 and is the first youth apprenticeship program for students interested in manufacturing in New York State. FLYAP partners with every BOCES and Career and Technical Education high school throughout the greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region.

“We are so very proud that through Genesee Valley BOCES and our relationships with amazing business partners, students receive experiences that will lead them into successful careers,” added GV BOCES Batavia Campus Executive Principal Rachel Slobert. “Whether it is a job shadow or paid internship, these opportunities allow students to get real-world experience prior to graduation.”

FLYAP is a program of the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA) and is supported by Monroe Community College (MCC) and the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program is also supported with funding from the Rochester Gas & Electric Economic Development Grant and Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.

“The students at the Genesee Valley BOCES and our region’s career and technical education centers are entering the manufacturing and skilled trades workforce with career-ready skills and experiences,” said Chris Suozzi, GCEDC Vice President of Business & Workforce Development. “The Youth Apprenticeship Program builds on those experiences with a direct pathway to rewarding careers at our region’s employers.”

To date, more than 400 high school juniors and seniors and nearly 150 businesses have participated in the program. in addition to the students’ work experiences, most take college-level courses at no charge through a dual enrollment agreement between participating schools and MCC. Entering this year, participants have taken more than 350 classes.

The next FLYAP “Signing Day” ceremony will be on Tuesday, March 14 at the Orleans Niagara BOCES in Medina, Orleans County. Additional programs can be found at www.flyap.org; or you can contact FLYAP at info@fingerlakesyouthapprenticeship.org or (585) 510-4278.

To view photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Rich Turner Director of Workforce Development, Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association

Chris Suozzi, Genesee County EDC – STAMP VP Business & Workforce Development

Karli Houseknecht - Tambe Electric

Hunter Meyers - Tambe Electric

Robert McCarthy - Grahams Corporation

Students left to right Bradley Burdett - Maris Systems Design, Bailey Burdett - Nortera Foods and their parents

With the first selection in the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program draft, Oxbo International of Byron New York selects Morgan Coniber, a senior welder from Le Roy High School.

Sound like something you’d hear from the commissioner of the National Football League?

Actually, those were the words of Dale Pearce, program director of Curriculum Development and Apprenticeships for the FLYAP, at Wednesday’s “Signing Day” school/business partnership event at the Genesee Valley BOCES Batavia Campus.

Educators, business people and family members gathered together – as organizers spaced the proceedings over a couple hours to comply with COVID19 regulations – to honor 19 GV BOCES students who signed “letters of intent” for job shadowing and/or paid internship opportunities with six local companies.

The businesses participating were: Amada Tool America, Batavia; Turnbull Heating & Air, Batavia; Bonduelle USA Inc., Oakfield, Bergen, Brockport; DP Tool & Machine, Avon; O-At-Ka Milk Products Co-Operative Inc., Batavia, and Oxbo.

While Coniber was designated as the No. 1 pick, the order of selection was determined by a random draw.

“Everyone is a first-round pick; everyone is a first overall pick,” said Rich Turner, director of Workforce Development for the Rochester Technology & Manufacturing Association, which coordinates the program with Monroe Community College with sponsorship from RG&E and the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation.

“We’re just doing a random selection just to fit the kids’ schedules and the businesses’ schedules. We just want to make sure that everyone is celebrated equally.”

Julie Donlon, assistant superintendent at Genesee Valley BOCES, said the school started the “Signing Day” several years ago “in an effort to bridge the gap between schools and businesses, and really to promote our business partners and show that we’re making efforts in preparing youth for the future workforce. Since then, it has grown and now we have several business partners.”

Students involved in the program go through an interview process and, after that initial step, are matched to a company based on their vocational program, said Jon Sanfratello, executive principal of the Genesee Valley BOCES Batavia Campus.

“We had more than 30 kids who did that … proceeding to the matching day,” Sanfratello said. “And now, we are at the ‘Signing Day.’”

Sanfratello said the 11^th-graders receive a job shadow at the particular company and the following year they get a paid internship with the company.

“The company really is able to take a look at a student for a couple years and really invest in him or her,” he said.

Twelfth-graders earn a paid co-op with their specific company and have a chance to eventually obtain an apprenticeship and become a full-fledged employee.

“We’re taking kids out of high school and trying to groom them towards what companies in the area need,” Sanfratello explained. “Students get 200 hours and get around $13-14 per hour. Compensation coincides with the FLYAP, which receives grant money and other funding to sustain the program.”

Turner said the FLYAP is designed to build the pipeline with local students entering advanced manufacturing trades.

“So, MCC will help work with the school districts,” he said. “We help with Genesee Valley BOCES, Monroe I, Monroe II, Edison Tech; we’ve also been in Orleans Niagara BOCES, and we’re hoping to go to the Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES in the next month or two.”

The program is in its second year and included Genesee Valley BOCES students for the first time, Turner noted.

“We had 32 draft picks in Monroe County last week and tonight we’re going to have 19 draft picks from Genesee Valley BOCES -- a huge accomplishment,” he said. “It’s an NFL Draft-style event. We want to really celebrate the kids and all of their accomplishments as well as the businesses that are giving them the opportunities.”

The list of students in the program, their home districts, Career & Technical Education programs and employer are as follows:

• Morgan Coniber, a senior from Le Roy High School, is enrolled in the Welding Program. She signed with Oxbo for a co-op program as a Welder.
• Nichole Hume from Alexander High School, signed for a CNC Machining co-op with Amada. Nichole is a senior enrolled in the CNC Machining Program.
• Cole Sullivan is a student in the Electromechanical Trades Program. He is a senior from Le Roy High School who signed for an Electromechanical Technician co-op with Oxbo.
• Nathan Stokes, a senior from Batavia High School, is a student in the CNC Machining Program. Nathan is already working in a CNC Machining co-op program with Amada.
• Dan Saeva, a junior from Batavia High School, is enrolled in the Metal Trades Program. He signed for a Welding job shadow program with Oxbo.
• Madison Brandes is a junior who is enrolled in the Metal Trades Program. Her home school is Le Roy High School. She signed for a CNC Machining job shadow with Amada.
• Luke Rindell from Batavia High School is a student in the Electromechanical Trades program. This senior signed with Oxbo for an Electromechanical Technician job shadow program.
• Kaiel Robinson is enrolled in the Electromechanical Trades Program. This senior from Le Roy High School signed for an Electromechanical Technician co-op program with Turnbull.
• Adam Risewick, a junior from Le Roy High School, is a student in the Electromechanical Trades Program. He signed with Oxbo for an Electromechanical Technician job shadow program.
• Jaden Pocock, from Byron Bergen High School, is a student in the Electromechanical Trades Program. This senior signed with Turnbull for an Electromechanical Technician co-op program. 
• Eric Offhaus is a student in the Welding Program. This junior from Pavilion High School signed for a welding job shadow with Oxbo.
• Henry Shafer attends Notre Dame High School in Batavia. Henry is a senior in the Electromechanical Trades Program. He signed for an Electromechanical Technician co-op with Bonduelle.
• Zach Vanderhoof, from Le Roy High School, is enrolled in the Electromechanical Trades Program. This junior signed with O-AT-KA for an Electromechanical Technician job shadow program.
• Zach Friedhaber is enrolled in the Electromechanical Trades Program. This senior from Attica High School signed with Bonduelle for an Electromechanical Technician co-op program.
• Jacob Beale, a junior from Elba High School, is enrolled in the Metal Trades program. Jacob signed for an Electronics Technician job shadow program with O-AT-KA.
• Sara Lis is enrolled in the Metal Trades Program. This senior from Pavilion High School signed for a Pipefitter job shadow program with Bonduelle.
• Lillias Bell is a junior from Caledonia-Mumford High School. She is enrolled in the Metal Trades Program and signed with DP Tool for a CNC Machining job shadow program.
• Alex Lynn is enrolled in the Electromechanical Trades Program. This junior from Caledonia-Mumford High School signed with DP Tool for an Electromechanical Technician job shadow.     
• Anthony Lippert is a junior from Livonia High School who signed with DP Tool from a Machine Builder job shadow.

Photo collages courtesy of Maggie Fitzgibbon, Genesee Valley BOCES.