With a month to go before the 2025-26 school year launches, workforce development leaders from colleges and industry toured on Wednesday the new Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) Extension Center in Albany.
The 46,377-square-foot CTE Extension Center will open in September on Watervliet-Shaker Road, across the street from the Career and Technical Education Center.
The Extension Center is home to two new programs—New Visions: Emerging Technologies and Plumbing Technology—and six expanded ones. Those include the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation (HERO) program which previously had only been offered at the Schoharie Career and Technical Education Center. Also being offered at the Extension Center is increased classroom spaces for the Electrical Trades, Building Trades, Cosmetology, Manufacturing and Machining Technology and Digital Media Design programs.
More than a dozen business and education partners joined Wednesday’s tour, including representatives of the Capital Region Workforce Development Board, Schenectady County Community College; Plug Power and Hudson Valley Community College.
While getting an update on the new facility from Career and Technical Education Director Jeff Palmer, the partners also discussed ways of increasing awareness of the school-to-work pathway for students and how that pathway can include a free, or low-cost, college education.
They also discussed opportunities to increase awareness of CTE programming—specifically lesser known and more ambiguous programs like Emerging Technologies and Manufacturing and Machining Technology—and the “great value” that attending a BOCES program offers students and their families.
The new programs were both created in conjunction with business partners.
New Visions: Emerging Technologies program was developed in collaboration with industry leaders Plug and the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES) and will ensure students gain cutting-edge skills and real-world insights, preparing them for immediate employment or for state-of-the-art apprenticeship programs in the industries.
Meanwhile, officials with UA Local 7, Plumbers and Steamfitters union helped BOCES launch the Plumbing Technology program in an effort to develop the necessary workers for that industry.
Construction of the CTE Extension Center started in November. Enrollment for nearly all of the programs is full, Palmer said. Overall, more than 1,740 students are currently enrolled for CTE programs across all Capital Region BOCES campuses. The enrollment is an increase from about 1,400 students during the 2024-25 school year.
Despite increasing opportunities and enrollment, Palmer said waiting lists continue to exist for some programs.
The Extension Center marks the third expansion of the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center this decade.
In October, a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Career and Technical Education Center – Schoharie Campus celebrated the completion of a renovation and upgrade project there. And, in 2022, the Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus relocated to a new, 167,000-square-foot, three-story building at 925B Watervliet-Shaker Road.
“The growth we are experiencing with the new Albany campus, the renovated Schoharie campus and now the Extension Center reflects the increasing demand for our programs from both students and employers,” Palmer said. “It is truly a great time to be involved in CTE.”