Published: July 10, 2009 01:16 am      

EDUCATION: BOCES program helps youth pick career path

BY LISA BIELMEIER

Special to The Journal-Register

BOCES has been helping students in the community to choose a career path for many years. Every summer, the Orleans Career and Technical Education Center plays host to dozens of area teens who are not old enough to get a summer job, but want to start getting skills and thinking about their futures. The program is called VELS, which stands for Vocational Exploration and Life Skills, and is funded by the Orleans County Job Development Agency. Students get paid minimum wage for the 20 hours a week they participate.

“Participants are chosen by certain criteria laid out by the Orleans County Job Development Agency,” said Program Coordinator Paul Dewey. “They have to apply and be interview to be selected. Being involved in this program teaches students life skills and what it is like to actually be working in the real world.”

This year, students are learning about electricity and electronics, health careers, computer technology and customer service and automotive trades.

“Classes focus on hands-on projects during the week,” Dewey said.

“In the electricity and electronics program, I want to open students’ eyes to that career possibility,” said teacher Bill Leggett. “The students will work with residential wiring, but the focus will be on electronics. They will be making a digital dice device and they will learn skills like accuracy and discipline while building the circuit board using hand and power tools. It requires precise measurements, as well as attention to safety. Students will learn to plan their work, think ahead and solve problems as they go.”

Automotive teacher Jeff Keller will focus on customer service complaints with the students.

“We will be using a team approach to show the students how proper diagnosis and attention to detail can reduce customer complaints,” Keller said. “Students will be challenged to troubleshoot and identify common automotive complaints such as tire balance, tread wear, ignition and braking problems.”

“Students will be put in groups to work on activities such as first aid and daily patient care in my program,” said Health Care teacher Dawn Pisarski. “They will be checking blood pressure, doing research on nutritional programs and keeping a dietary log.”

The four-week program also focuses on leadership activities and learning job-related information, such as career potential, payroll deductions and ways to conduct themselves in a professional manner when at a work site.

“VELS plants a seed about the value of a good education in helping to secure a solid career,” Dewey said. “This opens their eyes to some options they may have not thought about, and when they are eligible to start working, has given them the tools they need to impress an employer. It is a great program.”