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MCC Daily Tribune

Monroe Community College Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week

Last week was National Apprenticeship Week and the MCC Apprenticeship Team hosted a variety of events to celebrate.

Partnering with the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA), MCC conducted two webinars for the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program. The first webinar focused on a call to share best practices in registered apprenticeships with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, while the second webinar featured two female MCC registered apprentices, Ashley Hoffman of JML Optical (an MCC Optics student) and Marcie Dalton, a welding apprentice at Optimation (an MCC Skilled Trades student). Both Ashley and Marcie shared how MCC has provided them the necessary training for their pathway as registered apprentices. Ashley is the first woman to complete the Precision Optics Technician apprenticeship and gain her journey worker certificate from the state of New York Department of Labor, and she will be completing her Optical Systems Technology A.A.S. degree this December. Marcie continues to finish up her schooling at MCC and will become journey worker welder within the next three years.

MCC and RTMA also held three virtual Matching Day events for accepted students (youth apprentices) from the Monroe County area in The Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program. Matching Day gives youth apprentices the ability to interview with multiple companies in the Finger Lakes Region, and for the opportunity to secure a job-shadow or a paid Co-Op in the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program. With the help of RTMA, students are properly matched with employers and the company sponsors them as a youth apprentice. Students in the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program also gain dual credit, which is paid for by a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. These dual credit courses are accepted into registered apprenticeship programs in New York State and also count towards an MCC certificate and degree. Three more regions will hold Matching Day events and they include: the Genesee Valley Tech Center in Batavia, Niagara-Orleans Tech Center in Medina, and the Wayne Finger Lakes Tech Center in Stanley. The following companies participated in the Monroe County Matching Days:

  1. OptiPro
  2. Optimax Systems
  3. DP Tool
  4. Micro Instruments
  5. PGM
  6. Love Beets
  7. CooperVision
  8. Carestream
  9. Kodak
  10. Jrlon Engenering Products
  11. Jrlon West
  12. Unither Pharma
  13. Genesee Global Group
  14. JML Optical
  15. Acro Industries

Thank you to the following organizations and people for making the 2020 National Apprenticeship Week a success here at MCC. We couldn't have done it without you!

  • Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation
  • Urban League of Rochester
  • RochesterWorks!
  • RG&E
  • RTMA
  • Mike Smith, Bob Coyne, Elizabeth Murray, Ross Micali, Carly Rooney, Alexis Vogt, Christine Dossey and Hency Yuen-Eng.

Dale Pearce
Economic and Workforce Development and Career Technical Education VP Office
11/16/2020