RTMA, Partners Celebrate 5th Annual Genesee Valley Mechatronics Pre-Apprenticeship Boot Camp Graduation

Batavia – The Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association, the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, Genesee Community College and Genesee County Economic Development Center today celebrated graduates from the 5^th annual Genesee Valley Mechatronics Pre-Apprenticeship Boot Camp.

Participants received six weeks of free classroom instruction at the Genesee Valley BOCES in Batavia, paired with paid on-the-job experience at a local advanced manufacturing company. Oxbo, Tambe Electric, Trioton Mechanical and Turnbull HVAC offered paid co-ops to this year’s participants. The program is an earn-while-you-learn model that has placed nearly four dozen participants into full-time employment and several in registered apprenticeship programs.

“The Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Boot Camp is a proven model that has trained candidates for automated maintenance positions in advanced manufacturing throughout the greater Rochester and GLOW Region,” said Rich Turner, RTMA Director of Workforce Development. “Participants are taking what they learn in the classroom into the workplace as they embark on a great manufacturing career which will offer free training, great pay and room for advancement.”

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. 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 program has been replicated for the past two years in Monroe County.

The RTMA is also offering a new training program, Real Life Rosies, which will offer free training this fall at the Monroe 2 BOCES Center for Workforce Development. For more information, you can call 585-510-6557, email info@rtma.org or visit https://www.rtma.org/real-life-rosies.

Attached Pictured (left to right): Participants Jesus Aragon, Gavin Armbrewster, Cooper Augello, Eli Barrett, Everett Fish, Will Parker, Will Quackenbush and Jason Rowe with instructor Rich Monroe.