RTMA Graduates First Monroe County Pre-Apprenticeship Program

Rochester – Five participants graduated Thursday from the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association’s (RTMA) inaugural Monroe County Pre-Apprenticeship Program. The six-week program matched participants with employers in the city of Rochester and Monroe County while participating in classroom training at the Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center (FWD Center) at Monroe Community College.

The pre-apprenticeship program provides participants with six weeks of free classroom instruction on Industry 4.0 at the FWD Center. MCC provided the related instruction through its mechatronics program. Participants graduated from the program with 96 hours of state-of-the-art mechatronics training and on-the-job training at local advanced manufacturing companies.

“The RTMA is proud to expand pre-apprenticeship opportunities to those in the city of Rochester and Monroe County to provide participants with state-of-the-art classroom training and a paid on-the-job experience,” said Bob Coyne, RTMA Executive Director. “The Monroe County Pre-Apprenticeship Program is an innovative partnership between industry, academia and workforce development partners in our community.”

The Monroe County Pre-Apprenticeship Program includes hands-on simulation training for a variety of available careers; including electromechanical trades, construction materials manufacturing, agricultural manufacturing and more. In addition to the classroom time, participants received paid, on-the-job training and a fast-track opportunity for a full-time career with local manufacturing companies.

The program was modeled after the Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program which began in 2021 in the GLOW Region. The Monroe County Pre-Apprenticeship Program was sponsored by the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA) through a generous grant from the ESL Charitable Foundation.