Interested in a career with an excellent job growth forecast that also provides the reward that you are helping your fellow human?

Then look no further than the Capital Region BOCES Adult Education Sterile Processing Technician program, which will launch this fall.

Classes begin Sept. 14 and meet 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for classroom hours or 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. during clinical rotations.

Sterile processing technicians are on the front lines in the war against germs and are essential in keeping healthcare environments safe for patients. These technicians, who work in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, medical laboratories, birth centers and other facilities where sterilized equipment is needed, decontaminate, inspect, package and sterilize equipment and devices used in the healthcare environment. These items can range from very complex medical devices to simple hand-held surgical instrumentation and are essential to patient care and successful patient outcomes. 

Throughout its history, the Adult Sterile Processing Technician class at Capital Region BOCES has a nearly 100% job placement for graduates, Adult Health Careers Director Louise Bigando said.

Take for example graduates Rosa Friere and Kishora Madani.

“I was a CNA and I needed a change. I thought it was pretty cool that you can work on sterilizing equipment and that you get to work with the OR,” said Friere, a 2016 graduate of the program who works at Albany Medical Center.

“BOCES gave me good training. After I completed the course, I took a test, and Albany Med made me a sterile processing tech 1. … I couldn’t have done this without Capital Region BOCES,” added Madani, a 2015 graduate.

Job prospects for technicians exceed national job growth averages, with projected growth of 5% according to federal labor estimates with a median U.S. salary in 2024 of $62,480.