Nearly 20 students from our district interested in careers ranging from contractor to game designer to diesel mechanic visited the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus on Jan. 14 to learn how BOCES can provide the recipe for future success. Some students were looking to explore career options, while others already knew what they wanted to do and were looking for a competitive edge as they explored various programs offered on the campus.
“My dad works at Kenworth and I am interested in what he does,” said Jack Dibble, a sophomore from Berne interested in the Diesel Tech program.
Fellow BKW sophomore Abby Johnson is also interested in repairing large engines, but as a backup to another career. “I am interested in diesel so I can have a back-up career if law enforcement doesn’t work out,” she said.
Meanwhile, some students touring BOCES are interested in growing their passion and perhaps developing a career. Take for example sophomore Austin Bristol. “I play e-sports so I would like to be able to design my own games,” he said while talking to teacher Patti Gallant.
Once an education path for those students only seeking vocational skills, career and technical education is now a pathway for students looking to build career skills, get a start on their college education or just learn a life skill that will allow them to pay for college. At the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center, more than 70% of high school students pursue higher education, while many others directly enter the workforce with a highly technical skill set such as cooking, network cabling or operating heavy equipment.
Students in nearly all of Capital Region BOCES’ 27 programs earn certifications and valuable skills while also working in a real-world setting, such as area businesses. Two new programs are being added for the 2025-26 school year – Plumbing Technology and New Visions: Emerging Technologies – as BOCES opens a third campus. The new campus, the CTE Extension Center, will be located near the current Albany CTE Campus on Watervliet-Shaker Road in Albany.
Enrollment is currently underway for the 2025-26 school year. For more information on career and technical school programs, go to https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/.
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