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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Accelerated Tooling Program Spotlighted


Channel 8 did a live report about MCC’s newest graduates of the accelerated precision tooling certificate program on Feb. 18 at the Applied Technologies Center.

Two of the graduates, Patricio Siaca and Geneo Brown, were interviewed about their experiences. Ross Micali, program manager, provided the reporter with background information.

As part of Opportunity Agenda, the program at MCC enables unemployed and underemployed individuals to gain education and hands-on training in advanced manufacturing, earn a certificate in half the time, and find employment within a year.

Opportunity Agenda is a coordinated approach to address the needs of high-poverty communities within the Finger Lakes region. MCC’s accelerated precision tooling certificate program was among the priorities identified in the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council proposal that won state funding in 2013.

Patricio Siaca and Geneo Brown are among nine participants who completed the six-month training program on Feb. 27. Both became the first in their families to graduate from college. Here are their stories:

One of six children in his family, Patricio, 31, entered the workforce after graduating from high school. “I just didn’t get pushed into college by my parents,” he said. Over the years, he has held various jobs ranging from factory equipment operator to retail management and was a victim of company restructuring at one time. Now a father of two young children, he attended MCC full time while working as a part-time auto technician in a tire shop but “would like to be in a company that has potential for me to move up. I want to bust my behind so that my children can go to college,” he said.

Geneo, 41, dropped out of high school to help raise his child and began working toward becoming a master barber. Yet he didn’t give up on his education. Within a year, he earned his GED and later enrolled in MCC in pursuit of a stable, good-paying career. Over the years, he has gained experience as a machinist and held jobs in other fields while continuing to be employed in the barbershop. After his release from prison in 2014, he participated in the City of Rochester’s PRIME job-readiness program and returned to MCC. “I want to put my life back on course,” he said. “I would like to achieve success in the manufacturing industry as a precision machinist.”

The training program is a collaboration of MCC and the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association. The next class is scheduled to start on June 1.

Hency Yuen-Eng
Marketing and Community Relations
03/05/2015


Attachments:
icon Channel 8.mp4