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Making Your Career Work: Mythbusters
— which currently offers programs in auto body, auto mechanics, baking
and pastry arts, barbering, carpentry, construction electricity, HVAC, and welding, to name a few — enrolled 1,135 high school students and adult learners for the 2021-22 school year.
Myth: “It takes a long time to get the skills you need to work in a trade.”
Local colleges and universities
have been adding to options for students who want to try the trades. For instance, SUNY Westchester Community College has added training for certified production technicians to prequalify them to work in advanced manufacturing, according to Harold King, president of the Council of Industry in Newburgh. Students can learn job-related skills in measurement and safety and take tours of local
plants. The first cohort in the certified production technician program will include about 10 students, according to King.
The program is designed to fill
gaps in the local manufacturing workforce, which spans industries from electronics to food packaging, he notes. “Manufacturing, in particular, was having trouble filing middle-skilled positions,” says King. “The pandemic exacerbated that. It tended to have an older population. A lot of those folks retired.”
Meanwhile, Mercy College, in Dobbs Ferry, launched a new division on workforce credentialing and community impact in November. The division will introduce new programs that will help students prepare for jobs in the trades.
“It’s not that we are taking away in any way the value of a BA or college degree,” says Brian Amkraut, vice president and general manager for
workforce credentialing and community impact. “For the right person at the right time, a skills-based competency credential could be what they need to get that job, to get that promotion, or
to retain your workforce effectively as an employer.”
Mercy is also planning to roll out training programs in technology
fields, such as cybersecurity, and non-degree, just-in-time certificate programs in healthcare for jobs such as front-lines admissions professionals and billing. “All of these jobs can create pathways for sustainable careers,” says Amkraut.
Mercy is seeking input from local employers to shape its offerings with the goal of creating a curriculum that teaches the skills the market is looking for. “We want to be strategic and moving in the direction where there is demand,” says Amkraut.
The Westchester Community College Workforce Development and Community Education Division provides students with a wide variety of innovative workforce training and certification programs. These short-term courses are designed for individuals seeking additional skills to enter or advance in their careers. We offer training in high-demand fields including advanced manufacturing, healthcare, IT, and more. Thanks to our partners and sponsors, WCC is able to offer scholarships and financial assistance for qualified students.
WCC IS HERE FOR YOU.. Learn more at
sunywcc.edu/wdce-programs
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42 2022 SKILLS What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.