RTMA & FLYAP Celebrate National Apprenticeship Week

The Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA) and Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program (FLYAP) celebrate the 7^th annual National Apprenticeship Week throughout the week of November 15 – 19, 2022.

The week kicked off with a celebratory press conference Tuesday with the NYS Department of Labor, UNICON, the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council and Monroe Community College.  The RTMA partnered with local labor to highlight careers and apprenticeships in advanced manufacturing and the building trades.

“Advanced manufacturing and the skilled trades drive our local economy,” said RTMA Executive Director Bob Coyne.  “While the labor shortage and limited training opportunities are impacting business growth in our community, we must ask ourselves, ‘Where will the next generations of skilled labor come from?’  Registered Apprenticeships provide candidates on-the-job training and related instruction to meet current and future needs. Apprenticeships in advanced manufacturing and the skilled trades have a proven record of success. The solution is right at our fingertips.”

National Apprenticeship Week continued Wednesday as the RTMA and MCC partnered on the first ‘Matching Day’ for the 2021-2022 school year for the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program.  More than 20 students from the Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES – Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center and surrounding high schools interviewed with several businesses from Ontario, Wayne, and Monroe counties. These juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to participate in either a job shadow or a paid co-op during the school year.

The RTMA also featured several social media posts throughout the week to promote its NYS Registered Apprenticeship group sponsorship.  The association is home to the largest group sponsorship in the state with more than 145 apprentices, 15 trades at nearly 30 local manufacturing businesses.  FLYAP has connected more than 100 students to dozens of companies across the nine-county region for career exploration opportunities.  Currently, there are more than 275 students at nearly 20 schools across the region registered to interview with more than 70 companies.  You can check out more here.

NAW concluded on Friday with ‘Educator’s Day’ as the RTMA and FLYAP partner with UNICON to provide dozens of teachers and school administrators the opportunity to explore careers in manufacturing and the trades.  The event featured hands-on demonstrations and informational sessions on how schools can better prepare students for the workforce.

For more on the RTMA’s sponsorship of the NYS Registered Apprenticeship you can click here; and you can find out more about FLYAP here.