St. Lawrence County business leaders connect with BOCES students at Seaway Tech
Mar. 23—NORWOOD — Every day, students at Seaway Career and Technical Education Center in Norwood labor in professional environments designed to prepare them for specific job opportunities.
On Tuesday, they were observed by local business leaders from across the county as part of the Business Resources Connections event hosted by the St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services and the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with businesses.
The event began at 8:30 a.m. at the center, 7225 Route 56, with networking over coffee and a continental breakfast provided by the culinary arts students. Students made a variety of muffins, as well as egg tarts with puff pastry and ham, which many guests seemed to relish.
Nearly 30 business people attended the event, with representatives from Frenchie's Chevrolet in Massena, Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort in Hogansburg, Atlantic Testing Laboratories in Canton, North Country Dairy in North Lawrence, Alcoa Corp. in Massena, Goodrich Refrigeration Inc. in North Lawrence, and more.
Some business leaders, such as Réal "Frenchie" Coupal, owner and president of Frenchie's Chevrolet, spoke about how BOCES has made a positive impact in their life or businesses. Some leaders graduated from BOCES programs or hired others who did.
After breakfast, guests were split into multiple groups to be taken on tours of each "classroom" — not traditional classrooms. Rather, each program has its own professional workplace.
For instance, the culinary arts program has a fully equipped professional kitchen; the cosmetology program has a full salon; the auto-tech program is essentially a mechanic shop.
Guests also got to see the metalworking program in action, hearing the constant sparks of weld torches.
Other programs on the tour included natural resource management, criminal justice, HVAC, building trades, software development, health careers, and education and human services.
Seaway Tech Principal Lori A. Sheffield said this event helps students make connections with potential future employers.
"We're not an island, so getting those real connections for our students and making sure they know where they're going, that's what this is doing," she said.
She said this year in particular students are scared to enter the job market due to the educational and labor-market effects of the pandemic, so it is good for them to come face to face with business leaders who might be interested in hiring them.
On the flip side, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Benjamin R. Dixon hoped this event would introduce local business leaders to talented and qualified potential employees.
"Over the pandemic, the whole business world changed, and a lot of businesses are screaming for workers but can't find or retain qualified employees, so that can all be found here at BOCES," he said. "We prioritized bringing BOCES forward as a phenomenal and unrealized resource. The people attending today are getting a hands-on look at the amazing level of training happening here."
An open house at the center, which was recently renovated, is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
