Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES is working to meet an increasing demand for its services – including regular presentations to local school boards.

Christian Hy, a teacher in the Environmental Conservation program, has been using his time to go to various school district meetings to give a presentation on the changes within CTE programs and to further encourage the educational offerings – including a recent visit to the Southwestern Central School District.

Hy noted the 2.7 million skilled trade jobs that are expected to be vacant by 2030 just from people retiring. This encouragement along with the impressive offerings and resources, Hy hopes, will result in a greater number of students taking advantage of skilled trade programs at BOCES.

One program mentioned in the presentation by Hy was the autobody repair program run with teacher Thomas Congdon. This previous school year Congdon and students disassembled an entire car, painted it, and reassembled it, said Hy. It is an incredibly impressive achievement to complete work on an entire car within a school year, according to Hy, with this extensive hands-on training giving kids an advantage when entering the workforce. Hy also spoke of construction technology with Brennan Morrison. Morrison and his family have years of experience in general contracting, but he is able to bring many newer techniques and skills that will be useful for kids going into the workforce, according to Hy.

The cosmetology department has two amazing instructors as well. Kara Rusco and Kyla Rodriguez both work within the department and have shown a high level of success in passing on their skills, noted Hy. Many students have been completing temporary and permanent cosmetology licenses upon graduation. Hy noted that 25 of the 27 students enrolled last year completed this milestone, with this being an impressive feat requiring a thousand hours to finish.

Hy mentioned the increasing threshold of students each program must account for, which has been a major reason for department expansion. The cosmetology, conservation, and autobody repair programs all have two instructors in the departments, with Hy stating more programs are likely to grow to this point in the future. This increase in the need for the services BOCES offers, and expansion of programs to continue growth, led to the return of a previous teacher to the conservation department. Jeffrey Angeletti had previously moved to administrative duties, at which point Hy took over many of Angeletti’s previous duties within the department. When growth in the program reached a certain level, BOCES approached Hy about bringing on a second teacher. Hy said he contacted Angeletti immediately, and noted the incredibly fortunate feeling of being able to continue to expand the program alongside Angeletti.

Hy noted BOCE’s continued work with Trimble, the global precision networking solution. This company allows for the use of GPS assistance within the program. This ensures students are staying on the proper slope, aids in laying utility lines, and assists in land surveys, said Hy.

“Myself and Angeletti go out and talk to other conservation teachers across the state. We, by far, have some of the nicest equipment and facilities. A lot of the other programs don’t have the newer style controls in the equipment, and they’re certainly nowhere near where we’re at with the GPS and Trimble units,” said Hy.