Capital Region BOCES > Archive > Learning takes HVAC/R students to a ‘cool’ place in an effort to heat up their futures
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Learning takes HVAC/R students to a ‘cool’ place in an effort to heat up their futures

Brayden Blair, a Shenendehowa HVAC/R student, tries out a fire safety suit at the state chiller plant.
Brayden Blair, a Shenendehowa HVAC/R student, tries out a fire safety suit at the state chiller plant.

Career and Technical Education (CTE)  students had a busy month of October as Capital Region BOCES marked Careers in Construction Month with a series of activities, trips and guest educators who detailed the “ins” and “outs” of the construction industry.

The month was jam-packed with presentations by area businesses, a Trench Safety Day that involved numerous labor and business organizations training students, and an expo that brought more than 30 area business, labor and government organizations to the Albany CTE campus to train, network with and recruit about 1,000 high school students.

One recent Careers in Construction Month trip saw Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R) students tour the New York State Office of General Services Chiller Plant at the Empire State Plaza the week of Oct. 25. The plant is the largest such operation on the East Coast.

“The students learned all that the state has to offer for employment there, they learned the plant runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year with just one scheduled shut down a year, and they learned that the plant produces more steam in the summer time to keep the chillers going than it does in the winter to produce heat,” said HVAC/R Teacher James Bevington.

Students hear from a state representative while on the floor of the chiller plant
Students hear from a state representative while on the floor of the chiller plant

The seniors who took part in the visit said it was not only informative, but eye opening.

“I found that there is a lot more to the work than you imagine and that it can be a lot more dangerous than you would think,” said Brayden Blair, a Shenendehowa student enrolled in the program.

Blair is planning to follow his father into the HVAC/R industry because  “there is good money to be had, the work is constant and you will always be needed.”

Business, government, labor and education leaders said that events like hosting students for a tour, networking through an expo or serving as a guest teacher for a CTE program are more important than ever.

“It is extremely important to show the opportunities that exist for students who might not be interested in going to the college route and who like hands-on work,” said  Louie Angelo, an organizer with the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 291.