Photo by Howard Owens.
When you're charting a new path, you need a roadmap, and Shelia Eigenbrod, a year into her new job with the Genesee County Economic Development Center, has exactly that in mind.
The map would help inform high school students about career opportunities in Genesee County and what it might take to land the jobs that will put them on a path to a good salary with no college debt.
Eigenbrod, a retired Pavilion Middle School principal, is GCEDC's education consultant.
She told The Batavian after a GCEDC board of directors meeting on Thursday that her roadmap project is "very exciting."
"It's like a typical old-school map," Eigenbrod said. "It unfolds. It will contain all of the industries in Genesee County, especially those focused on advanced manufacturing. It'll designate the types of hires, whether it's engineers, skilled trades, technicians, or apprenticeship programs, and will have a lot of descriptions so that students and school counselors understand what mechatronics is, what CNC is, what advanced manufacturing is, and will also connect to workforce development."
The roadmap was the focus of her presentation on Thursday to the GCEDC board.
"This is something that is meant to be attractive to and understandable for all the guidance counselors and school officials," Eigenbrod said. "It's also something easier to hand out to students. I know we're going to compete with a lot of college materials, the mountain of stuff every graduating senior gets, but really, the message here is all the great careers we have in our community that are, no doubt, we have training programs already set up in our BOCES (and at Genesee Community College)."
She expects the map to be a nice handout at school open houses, parent meetings, and career fairs.
"We've identified a lot of the companies in Genesee County," Eigenbrod said. "We're going to have descriptors of what the company produces, their type of workforce, number of people if they're intending to hire, and if they are looking for apprenticeships, skilled trades, engineers, and technicians."
In response to board questions, she said she also expects to include information on local businesses in need of back-office help, such as accountants and other financial workers.
The map will point students to resources for training for the type of jobs available.
"I really want educators to understand what is going on, and these career pathways," she said.
