InVEST in Success
Ulster BOCES means different things to different people. To Brody Selman, who is about to complete the Manufacturing Technology program at the Ulster Adult Career Education Center in Port Ewen, Ulster BOCES means the chance to not just make a living, but make a life.

Selman used to work at a warehouse in Newburgh, pushing boxes and crates around all night, just to make enough money to provide for his young family.

“It wasn’t any kind of career. It was just a job,” said Selman. “Not that it was a bad place to work or anything like that, but it wasn’t going to lead anywhere.”

With a wife and two young boys to support, he felt like he was in a dead-end situation, with no readily apparent way out. One day, he came across a postcard in his mailbox from the Ulster Adult Career Education Center. It was about a program called InVEST, which trains individuals meeting certain eligibility guidelines in one of nine career paths.

Funded by a grant from the New York State Department of Labor, InVEST is “an opportunity for people in the area who are unemployed or underemployed to receive free career training in an area that interests them,” Diane Sleight, coordinator of the InVEST program at Ulster BOCES, explained.

Currently, InVEST trains certified nursing assistants (CNAs), EKG technicians, phlebotomy technicians, medical coding and billing technicians, clerical office personnel, entry-level machinist/manufacturing technicians, oil heat technicians, computer network coordinators, and computer help desk professionals.

“The program helps people obtain the skills they need to move up the job ladder and be more valuable to area employers,” said Sleight.

For Selman, it was an opportunity to explore a career field that he had been interested in for awhile, but knew very little about.

“It just sort of piqued my interest,” said Selman. “I had always wondered what a CNC (Computer Numeric Control) operator did, and this program was a chance to find out.” He checked it out, sat in on a few classes, met with Sleight and Mark Harris, the instructor for the classes he was interested in taking, and decided to give it a try. He began the program in September 2001, which meant spending his days in classes, making the grade at the training facility in Port Ewen, and his nights at the warehouse, making a paycheck to support his family.

“I averaged about 19 ˝ hours a day, either being in class, on the road, or working. But it was worth it,” said Selman.

Not quite a year later, he’s about to graduate from the InVEST program, and has already lined up a great-paying new job at Falla Industries, a machine shop in Kingston.

“I am just ecstatic,” said Selman. “I’ve been just about jumping for joy since I heard I got the job! This Ulster BOCES course is just about the best program that ever was – and I keep telling all my friends about it.”

Qualifications for the InVEST program are specific: The applicant must be a New York State resident. One or more people in the applicant’s household must be either a pregnant woman, a child under the age of 18, or a child under the age of 19 who is attending secondary school or an equivalent level of technical training. An adult relative caring for a minor child also would qualify under the InVEST guidelines set by New York State. In addition, the applicant’s income must meet certain income requirements. For more information regarding InVEST at Ulster BOCES, call Diane Sleight at 331-0902.