SUNY Oneonta manufacturing bootcamp readies workers

ONEONTA, N.Y. — Nine residents of Otsego and Delaware counties earned a microcredential from their involvement in a recent manufacturing bootcamp through SUNY Oneonta’s Extended and Community Learning (ExCL) Center. The school held an Oct. 2 ceremony following the program, which is described as an intensive four-week effort designed to prepare workers for local manufacturing jobs, per the SUNY Oneonta announcement. “I saw an opportunity to get out into the workforce and find a long-term career without having to move outside my community,” Jayden Trask, a Sidney resident who completed the program, said in the school’s announcement. “The program taught me more than I expected. My goal now is to find a job where I can be my best … maybe operate a CNC machine and become a programmer in the future.” Under the manufacturing bootcamp, students completed 100 hours of classroom instruction at the ExCL Center; 20 hours of hands-on instruction at local manufacturing facilities; and two days of resume writing and mock interviewing with the SUNY Oneonta Career Planning and Networking Center. Students also toured five local manufacturing companies to learn more about their products and production. “My favorite part of the training program was getting out in the community to tour manufacturing facilities,” said Dawn Rowe, a Unadilla resident and manufacturing bootcamp participant. “It gave me a greater sense of what they do and what they are seeking from their employees. I was impressed with how many important products are manufactured right here in our area, and I hope to find a manufacturing job soon.” “SUNY Oneonta’s Advanced Manufacturing Training is an accelerated program with a clear end goal,” Misty Fields, director of the SUNY Oneonta Extended and Community Learning (ExCL) Center, said. “Since its ribbon cutting last year, the SUNY Oneonta ExCL Center has actively pursued opportunities to deliver workforce development initiatives tailored to the needs of our regional industries. This program was designed with flexible instruction and applied learning experiences to directly address the priorities of our local employers. As a result, participants are now prepared for manufacturing careers or registered apprenticeship programs.” In-person and hands-on classes covered a wide-range of instruction from technical writing to manufacturing safety, blueprint reading, measuring devices, hand tools, battery assembly, soldering and shop-floor math. Local manufacturers — Brooks Manufacturing in Unadilla, Ioxus in Oneonta, and Custom Electronics — hosted students in their facilities for tours and more direct instruction alongside manufacturing professionals, the school said. “I don’t believe most people realize just how many manufacturers are here in our region, or the fact that we are all seeking qualified employees,” said Bradford Brooks, president of Brooks’ Machine Products in Unadilla. “Training programs like this one can help us build that needed awareness and inspire more people to consider pursuing manufacturing careers here in Otsego County.” Upon successful completion, the training program offered participants a $1,000 stipend, transportation assistance, a laptop, job interviews and placement support. “Ioxus was glad to be a part of the manufacturing training program, as it allowed us to take people from the community to give them hands-on training, which they can take with them to any job, or can help them be hired with Ioxus,” Chad Hall, co-founder and president of Ioxus in Oneonta, said. The workforce-development initiative was made possible through the combined efforts and funding of SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Broome, SUNY Pre-Apprenticeship Program, the New York State Department of Labor RADAR Grant program, the Oneonta Working Solutions office and the workforce development board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida counties.