Electro-Mechanical Trades Program

Seeing the contracts NFL teams are handing out, it’s wild to see the value of a journeyman quarterback or a promising left tackle. 

But we have students graduating from our high schools this year who have made their own million-dollar decisions in mechatronics and in the metal trades.

And nothing is preventing more students from doing the same. 

Take Joseph Costa and Thomas Condidorio from Le Roy. 

We just celebrated our 100th graduate in the Batavia Career & Technical Education Center’s Electro-Mechanical Trades Program, and their story is an example of why this career pathway is working.

In their junior and senior years, Joseph and Thomas trained in the Electro-Mechanical Trades classroom and went on job shadows and paid youth apprenticeship co-ops at Gorbel.

Both students are now graduating with accepted offers to continue with the company and pursue apprenticeships.

Without college debt and with the starting salaries matching their training experience, they are on the path to making $1 million over the next 12 years.

How?

Upon entering the workforce in a specialized field, students can complete a four-year apprenticeship program, where they gain hands-on experience and develop their skills while contributing to the team as a valuable asset.

These four years can earn you as much as $250,000 debt-free!

After your apprenticeship, you will be well on your way with promotions, additional job duties, and leadership roles that will set you up for sustained success throughout your professional career.

Your next eight years in the workforce can earn you an additional $750,000, which will complete your 'make a million in mechatronics' milestone as a professional who can receive a steady annual salary increase.

Joseph and Thomas are thrilled to have the chance to 'make a million in mechatronics', but what's even more exciting is that every other student in their region and their classmates in the CNC and Welding programs at the Batavia CTE share the same incredible opportunity!

These three programs are just the beginning of what mechatronics and the metal trades have to offer, providing a foundation for a wide range of career possibilities.

Mechatronics is an in-demand skill set that employers are actively searching for. It provides professionals with diverse roles related to computing, robotics, mechanical engineering, and information technology.

For Joseph and Thomas, the programs that led them to start their careers in mechatronics with a strong foundation in robotics, residential/commercial electrical, circuit boards, wiring, and most importantly, how to become self-sufficient learners, skills manifested from the instruction of Rich Monroe and the Electro-Mechanical Program.

These skills lead to local careers including residential electrician, industrial electrician, maintenance technician, advanced manufacturing technician, robotics technician, engineering/engineering technician, solar technician, and even healthcare technician!

Even if your child is graduating without taking advantage of this program, there are opportunities to catch up.

The same partners who supported Joseph and Thomas team up for a six-week mechatronics-based program at the Batavia CTE Center. The program provides students aged 18-24 with paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction.

By gaining these skills, students can improve their job prospects and increase their earning potential in the region.

With all of the companies growing in our region, we can help your son or daughter find their path. As a career coach, I’m passionate about helping them.

We can get them on the path to ‘make a million in mechatronics and the metal trades’!

Contact me at csuozzi@gcedc.com to learn more about the opportunities available.

Chris “Coach SwazZ” Suozzi is the Vice President of Business & Workforce Development at the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

Press Release:

As he entered his first class at the Electro-Mechanical Trades program at the Batavia Career & Technical Education Center, Tommy Condidorio did not anticipate the depth of the education he would receive.

“I was expecting to learn wiring, but instead we learned wiring, robotics, pneumatics, mechanical drives,” Condidorio said of the career-ready coursework instructor Rich Monroe teaches. “I’ve learned a lot more than I thought I was going to learn.”

As his final classes near, Condidorio’s experiences in the Genesee Valley BOCES program have shown him a path forward. He and classmate Joseph Costa have been offered positions as electro-mechanical assemblers at Gorbel in Monroe County, where they have completed extensive co-ops this spring.

“I never thought I’d come out of BOCES with a job,” Condidorio said. Students like Condidorio and Costa in a fast-growing high school mechatronics program were celebrated Friday by educational, business, and training partners to mark a milestone for a training pathway supporting the growth of skilled trades and manufacturing in Genesee County and surrounding communities. 

The Electro-Mechanical Trades program at the Genesee Valley BOCES Batavia Career & Technical Education Center, now in its 4th year, has connected over 100 students to college and career pathways that include direct employment and apprenticeships in the skilled trades and manufacturing.

Instructor Rich Monroe told his electro-mechanical trades students that his current students shared the honor. 

“They’re all a part of it, and they’ve all been part of the success of this program,” Monroe said. “I am, very proud of all of them that have stood the test and have done what they've needed to do to be successful in this program.”

Students are trained in a state-of-the-art mechatronics lab and participate in youth apprenticeships and paid internships completed during students’ junior and senior years at employers.

"The success of the mechatronics program at Genesee Valley BOCES shows why Genesee County and our region are attracting major expansions and new companies," said Chris Suozzi, Vice President of Business & Workforce Development at the GCEDC. "These students are well trained and ready to jump directly into a career in manufacturing or the skilled trades, an apprenticeship, or additional training, and our employers are gaining a next-generation workforce to grow their operations."

In her first year in the electro-mechanical trades program, Emma Spink, a junior from Attica, completed job shadows at Koike in Wyoming County and Nortera in Genesee County.

“I saw all the different jobs that electricians could have in one building, which is very neat. This trade can take you multiple routes,” said Spink, who can progress to a more extensive co-op with a local company in her senior year with the goal of joining an apprenticeship program with an employer while also getting college credits.

“I’m really excited about this co-op opportunity,” Spink said. “I get to go to a company and they’re really excited and willing to have you, and then they actually pay you for your time there and you get to learn all about it and do electrical work for them.”

Friday’s program closed out a week of events marking National Youth Apprenticeship Week. The job shadows and co-ops Monroe’s students participate in are part of the successful Rochester Technology & Manufacturing Association (RTMA) Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program (FLYAP). The program was created in 2018 and is the first youth apprenticeship program for students interested in manufacturing in New York State.

RTMA Director of Workforce Development Rich Turner praised the Genesee Valley BOCES program as the most active youth apprenticeship program in the region. 

“For a program to have 100 graduates in four years is a huge success,” Turner said. “It’s because of the culture that’s been built here by Mr. Monroe, Chris Suozzi and his team at the GCEDC, the partner businesses … and you, the students.”

For Costa, the FLYAP-sponsored co-op has been part of a busy calendar. He is competing in track and tennis, completing his coursework at LeRoy High School, and splitting his BOCES classes between Monroe’s classroom and Gorbel. He is excited to have a career lined up without college debt.

“It’s perfect, because I’m getting paid for it and I’m coming in with experience that I’ve already gained through BOCES,” Costa said. “It helps me a ton … they don’t have to explain every little thing to me, and the learning experience just goes so much faster.” 

Submitted photo and press release:

Henry Schafer is a young man who sets a goal and is not afraid to work hard to achieve it. This senior from Notre Dame High School in Batavia is enrolled in the Electro-Mechanical Trades Program at the Batavia Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center.

Henry was recently awarded the Electrical Association of Western New York’s (WNY) School-to-Work Scholarship for $500. According to the Electrical Association of WNY, the money is to be used toward the cost of tools for individuals seeking a career in the electrical trade.

After graduation, Henry plans to attend Alfred State College of Technology to study Electrical Construction and Maintenance Electrician. His long-term goal is to, “Work as an electrician to take care of myself, my family, and keep a roof over our heads.”

Rich Monroe is the instructor of the Electro-Mechanical Trades Program at the Batavia CTE Center.

“Henry’s growth has been remarkable," Monroe said. "He came into this program as a very timid person. Last summer, he had a co-op job with Turnbull Heating and Air Conditioning where he was able to use the skills that he learned in this program. Henry has a tremendous work ethic.”

Henry is currently in a work co-op program with Bonduelle in Bergen where he is gaining valuable on-the-job experience. This worldwide food processing company has three locations in New York State. 

“I’m learning how to fix motors and ballasts," Henry said. "So much of what I learned in this program is helping me in this co-op."

This humble and shy young man has many accomplishments. He is a member of the National Honor Society at Notre Dame High School and also a member of the National Technical Honor Society at the Batavia CTE Center.  He has been a recipient of the Notre Dame High School Anima Christi Award, and is also a scholar athlete for both cross-country and swimming.

Henry was awarded the New York State Triple C Award, which recognizes the courage, character, and commitment of New York State’s outstanding students.

In Henry’s free time, he volunteers at St. Michael’s Church as an altar server and usher, and helps in his church’s Clothes Closet.  

The Electrical Association of Western New York established a School-to-Work Scholarship in 1998. All applicants are judged on academic achievement in school and personal characteristics by an independent panel of area school educators.

The Electro-Mechanical Trades Program is offered at the Batavia CTE Center, a Genesee Valley BOCES program. GV BOCES operates as a Board of Cooperative Educational Services offering shared programs and services to 22 component school districts located in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Steuben counties in New York State.

Photo from left: Rich Monroe, instructor, Electro-Mechanical Trades Program; student Henry Schaefer; and Maggie Poray, Student Services coordinator, Batavia CTE Center.

Submitted photo and press release:

Casey Felski is a determined young person. This senior from Pembroke High School attends the Electro-Mechanical Trades Program at the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center.

Last school year, she attended the Building Trades Program at the Batavia CTE Center. Rich Monroe is Casey’s Electro-Mechanical Trades instructor in the program. He describes her as a leader in the classroom and on the worksite.

“From Casey’s first day of school, I could see that hands-on learning is her forte," Monroe said. "I could tell that she would excel in whatever she attempted to do.  My job as her instructor was to spark her interest."

Each year the Building Trades and Electro-Mechanical Trades Programs build a house on-site for a home owner. All the building materials costs, as well as the construction of the home’s foundation, are paid by the home owner but the labor to construct the home is free.

This house project provides students with real-world on the job experiences including leadership roles.  

As a senior, Casey does just that, she works with the incoming juniors to orient them to working at the house site, leading group projects and running jobs as assigned by Monroe.

Besides being determined, Casey can also be described as hardworking and dedicated. She is an active volunteer firefighter with Corfu Rescue Hook and Ladder Company and she also serves as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). She runs track at Pembroke High School and works part time at a grocery store in Akron. 

Casey’s actions and work ethic in and out of the classroom have proven successful. She recently was awarded a School-to-Work scholarship from the Electrical Association of Western New York (EAWNY).

Founded in 1924, this organization’s mission is to educate about the safe and efficient use of electricity and technology, and promote the electrical industry. Each year, the EAWNY awards School-to-Work Scholarships to individuals who pursue a career in the electric industry and participate in a training program to be used for the purchase of tools.

After graduation in June, Casey’s goal is to gain acceptance into the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 41 Apprenticeship Program. Monroe said the he has no doubt that Casey will get accepted.

Photo, from left: Instructor Rich Monroe, senior Casey Felski, and Catherine Bennett, Batavia CTE Center assistant principal.