Nine students from both Otsego and Delaware counties who completed a four-week manufacturing program offered through SUNY Oneonta’s Extended and Community Learning Center were recognized with a graduation ceremony Thursday, Oct. 2.
The ceremony marked the students’ completion of the program, where they each earned a Manufacturing Bootcamp microcredential, according to a news release. The goal of the training program is to “launch workers into local manufacturing jobs,” it stated.
The new program mandated each student to complete 100 hours of classroom instruction at the ExCL center, the news release stated, in addition to 20 hours of hands-on learning experience at local manufacturing facilities and two days of resume writing and mock interviewing with the SUNY Oneonta Career Planning and Networking Center.
“Over the last four weeks, you have impressed all of us with your hard work and your dedication,” said Misty Fields, director of the ExCL center. “You have shown determination, curiosity and resilience, and I am incredibly proud of the progress each of you have made. What you have accomplished in such a short time is remarkable.”
Participants toured five local manufacturing companies, including Brooks Manufacturing, Ioxus and Custom Electronics, as part of the program, gaining information about their products and production.
“Ioxus was glad to be a part of the manufacturing training program, as it allowed us to take people from the community to give them hands-on training, which they can take with them to any job, or can help them be hired with Ioxus,” said Chad Hall, co-founder and president of Ioxus in Oneonta in a news release.
Eileen Morgan-Zayachek, vice provost of academic affairs at SUNY Oneonta, said the program was an “inaugural advanced manufacturing bootcamp,” for the school.
The curriculum included topics like blueprint reading, civility in the workplace and financial wellness, Morgan-Zayachek said, and students learned to use precision tools, interpret technical drawings and communicate in professional settings.
“You did all of this not just to gain skills, although that’s very important,” Morgan-Zayachek said. “The skills are very valuable. You did it to prove it to yourself and to others, including us, that you are ready to thrive in the world of advanced manufacturing. You demonstrated your ability in advanced manufacturing.”
Students proved the depths of possibility when individuals are given the “opportunity, the support and the tools they need to succeed,” Morgan-Zayachek said.
Fields said she worked closely with Danielle Britton, the director of training, education and workforce development at SUNY Broome, on similar projects in the past.
This bootcamp training is offered at Broome-Tioga Workforce. She said about a year ago, she identified a need for this training in Oneonta through working solutions and local manufacturers. Fields said the program was a “collaborative effort between both institutions,” SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Broome.
Clarissa Arnold-Walrath, the workforce development business coordinator at SUNY Broome, said the school was “thrilled to have worked collaboratively with SUNY Oneonta” on the project.
Following the remarks, students received their certificates one by one.
After the ceremony, one of the graduates Jayde Trask, of Sidney, said she was initially drawn to the program because she was facing challenges looking for jobs. She added that she did not have large amounts of professional experience prior to the bootcamp.
Working alongside such a tight knit group of fellow students, Trask said it was a very supportive environment.
“It’s been amazing here,” Trask said. “It’s been fun, but (we have) also been learning a lot. We created a little family, and I feel like everyone really took something from all of this. I know a lot of us feel more confident about talking to people now. Seeing all of the facilities was really cool.”
Trask said she was hoping to get an interview with Amphenol, a leading manufacturer of “high-technology interconnect, sensor and antenna solutions,” according to its website.
The initiative was made possible through the efforts and funding of SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Broome, SUNY Pre-Apprenticeship Program, the New York State Department of Labor RADAR Grant program, the Oneonta Working Solutions office and the workforce development board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida counties, the news release stated.
Graduating students included Randy Wilens, of Unadilla, Mason Ray, of South New Berlin, D’Layne Wilens, of Unadilla, Tom Rodriguez, of Oneonta, Mohammad Shahriar Shihab, of Oneonta, Jayde Trask, of Sidney, Joseph Ferschke, of Greene, Dawn Rowe, of Unadilla and Rose Field, of Mount Vision.
Fields said she looks forward to offering the program again in spring 2026.
“Today is not an ending, but a beginning,” Fields said. “I encourage you to keep pushing and moving forward on the skills that you’ve built and to know that there is a community that stands behind you. We are only a phone call or email away.”