RTMA & Partners Celebrate 2nd Genesee Valley Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Boot Camp Graduation

Batavia – The Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association and workforce development partners from the GLOW Region (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans & Wyoming counties) Thursday celebrated graduates from the second annual Genesee Valley Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Boot Camp.

Four participants received six weeks of free classroom instruction at the Genesee Valley BOCES in Batavia, paired with paid on-the-job experience at Oxbo, Graham and Zoladz Construction. The program is an earn-while-you-learn model that has placed more than 50 participants into full-time employment and several in registered apprenticeship programs.

“The demand for skilled welders in advanced manufacturing and the skilled trades is high throughout the region, and this program fills an almost immediate need,” said Rich Turner, RTMA Executive Director. “The combination of hands-on classroom instruction and paid on-the-job training prepares this class for great careers in one of our region’s largest industries.”

The RTMA and its partners created the Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program in 2021 to assist companies in the region with recruitment and training for high-demand careers in advanced manufacturing and added a welding cohort in 2025. Participants receive 96 hours of state-of-the-art classroom training and more than 100 hours of paid on-the-job experience.

Classroom instruction was provided at no cost due to a SUNY Pre-Apprenticeship Grant secured by Genesee Community College and its BEST Center and the RTMA. The Genesee County Economic Development Center, Genesee Valley Educational Partnership and GLOW Works also support the annual training program.

The RTMA offers pre-apprenticeship training throughout the year. The Real Life Rosies © and Advance 2 Apprenticeship programs are offered at the FWD Center at Monroe Community College’s downtown Rochester campus and BOCES 2 Center for Workforce Development in Spencerport in September. For more information, call 585-510-6557 or email rthompson@rtma.org.

Pictured are Rich Turner (RTMA), Jacob Kuhn, Brandon Billett, Chris Suozzi (GCEDC), Seth Jaszko, Andrew Geyer (Genesee Valley BOCES, MarcChistropher Cook, and Christa Palmer (GCC).