TOWN OF WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Jefferson-Lewis BOCES has seen a 20 percent jump in enrollment in its career and technical education programs this year.
Welding students like Kody Young are part of the more than 1,300 students from local high schools that attend Jefferson-Lewis BOCES to learn a trade.
“We all have projects to do here and it’s a very good learning environment,” said Young.
Jeff Ginger, the director of Career and Technical Education, says more students are realizing they don’t necessarily need to attend college to have a successful career. He says trade schools are giving students the training they need for a job once they graduate.
“I do think the stigma is changing. What I would say is what I love about BOCES is that you can go anywhere from here. There’s no limit on where you go after this. So we will have students who will go right to work,” said Ginger.
With the rising increase in student enrollment, programs such as electrical wiring and welding have doubled in size.
Electrical wiring instructor Tom Orvis says that students who choose to go to trade school are getting a lot out of their education.
“And at the end of five years, being the longest time you can be in one of those trade schools, you’re coming out with 10,000 hours worth of knowledge and experience on the job and those are highly – they’re really good paying jobs,” he said.
Ginger says they look forward to getting more students enrolled as the call for trade jobs increases nationwide.
Copyright 2023 WWNY. All rights reserved.
