CV-TEC in Plattsburgh held its first signing ceremony today in which students studying the trades sign contracts with local employers.
An event held Wednesday at CV-TEC just may work.
It’s certainly going to put Champlain Valley Educational Services Career and Technical Education students to work.
On Wednesday, more than two dozen CV-TEC students signed letters of intent to take a job at a regional employer thanks to a partnership between CV-TEC and SkillsUSA, a national organization dedicated to workforce development for students in CTE.
CV-TEC Student Services Coordinator Sherry Snow says the high school-aged students will gain work-based learning, such as job shadowing and internships that lead to full-time jobs.
“Thousands of CTE students, business partners, school administrators, teachers, family and friends are gathering across the country to honor and celebrate America’s next generation of skilled professionals,” Snow said. “These students will go on to provide the knowledge, skills and services that are critically needed in our communities and industries across the nation. They will be signing Letters of Intent today officially marking the start of their careers right here in our community.”
Della Automotive Group North General Manager Ernie Galarza told the students that CTE is now a way to obtain a profitable and in-demand career.
“You know I graduated high school in 1971 and I remember the students that were placed in CV-TEC type of courses, vocational courses. And they were considered the dregs. Wow, were we wrong! Because nowadays the students that are plumbers, that are in health care, automotive technicians, carpenters, skilled masons are making as much, if not more, than Liberal Arts guys who are teaching poetry at Princeton.” Galarza added, ”Don’t limit yourself. Learn the business side of it. Learn the money part of it.”
Businesses that have partnered with the school stood alongside each student as they picked up a pen and committed to a job offer.
Willsboro Central School Senior and CV-TEC Automotive Technology Program student Aiden Gagnier signed a Letter of Intent to be part of the Michelin Technical Scholars Program.
“I always knew I wanted to work with my hands, and CV-TEC just seemed like a perfect pathway to getting the connections I needed and figuring out where I wanted to go,” Gagnier said. “And it did work out with me because I got a deal with Michelin. They’re going to send me to school for free to be a maintenance technician for them.”
CV-TEC Business Management and Entrepreneurship program student Zoe Corrigan is a SkillsUSA New York State officer.
“SkillsUSA pushes us to be professional, confident and career ready. One of the most inspiring things I’ve seen this year is the number of seniors being signed directly into the local workforce, even before graduating. These seniors are proof that Career and Technical Education works. They are leaving with experience, credentials and job offers in hand. They are becoming the next generation of local leaders, essential workers and community builders,” said Corrigan.
There is no length of work requirement in the Letters of Intent.
