The Ulster BOCES Career & Technical Center, a regional leader in career and technical education (CTE), celebrated the achievements of 574 young professionals at its annual completion celebration on May 29. Each young professional has been equipped with the real-world experience and skills needed to enter the workforce, or to pursue more advanced training, in fields ranging from automotive technology to animal science, cybersecurity to culinary arts, health occupations to HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and dozens more. 

“We are the largest workforce development agency in Ulster County and possibly the Hudson Valley,” said Ulster BOCES Supervisor of Workplace Learning Stephen Casa. Over a quarter (28.9%) of our graduates go directly into the workforce upon completing their programs, he noted. Most of the remainder (59.8%) go on to two- and four-year colleges or complete additional training programs in their fields, and many return to work for local businesses. With a class of more than 500 individuals completing Ulster BOCES programs annually, this represents a substantial group of skilled employees entering the local workforce.

In June of 2025, Ulster BOCES already had 280 students placed in internships, with 76 of those being paid opportunities. Those interns earn a combined over $17,000 a week, according to Casa, who suggests that this income is likely making a significant contribution to the local economy.

“We have a workforce that is ready to go to work upon graduating high school,” declared Casa, who points out that many of the interns complete their program with job offers. Others are told by the companies they were interning with that they will have a job waiting for them once they complete college, or receive additional training.

One local business, Jeff Lowe Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning in Kingston, has forged a mutually beneficial relationship with young professionals from Ulster BOCES. According to Jon Jameson, the company’s service manager, they are currently benefiting from having four interns and another four full-time employees who completed the HVAC program at Ulster BOCES. They also have plans in place to hire a recent intern who graduated high school last year and is in college now. “We already made him a job offer, which was accepted, for full-time work once he graduates,” said Jameson.

Jameson is also part of the HVAC Advisory Board at Ulster BOCES. By working with industry partners to create curriculum, Ulster BOCES is able to stay up to date with the skills needed in the industry. “Ulster BOCES asks for my feedback as far as how the program can be tuned to produce a worker that is more field ready,” Jameson explained.

Gianni DeCicco, an Ulster BOCES alum, is currently the operations manager at RYCOR HVAC in New Paltz. “I’ve been with the company for 10 years now,” he said. “I did my Capstone [internship] program here senior year where I was able to work three days a week and attend Ulster BOCES the other two.” RYCOR has employed several other Ulster BOCES alums as well, and DeCicco is also on an Ulster BOCES industry advisory board. “I was never someone that could learn from looking at a book, I was more hands-on,” he recalled. Referring to Ulster BOCES internships, he said, “This is hands-on learning, while getting credit for it and getting paid for it.” 

For the industry partners, taking on students as interns is like an extended probationary period where both parties learn whether or not it is the right fit. “We have more confidence as employers, knowing they have an idea of what is expected,” explained Frank Falatyn, president of FALA Technologies in Kingston, another Ulster BOCES industry partner. “They have worked in this environment and are expressing an interest to go further.” 

Falatyn attended Manufacturing Advocacy Day in Albany this year, where the importance of internships and apprenticeships was emphasized. “I am excited about the future of workforce development because of the solutions like this that we are building today,” he said.

At Elna Magnetics in Saugerties, Vice President James Ferraro has collaborated with Ulster BOCES for over a decade. “BOCES has always done an incredible job asking private industry, ‘What do you need from us?’” he said. “When these young professionals come to work for you, they have a base and some skills you can work with.” Interviewing Ulster BOCES students is like having a conversation with a business professional, he suggested. “They come prepared with a resume and good questions.” 

Ferraro is also a chair for the Workforce Development Board and on the steering committee for the Ulster BOCES Hudson Valley Pathways Academy (HVPA). Elna recently hired a full-time intern from HVPA and currently has an intern from the Ulster BOCES Robotics & Advanced Manufacturing program who has been offered a job upon his graduation from Saugerties High School.  

“Workforce development has to start at the high school level,” Ferraro asserted. “You have to let students know early on what is out there.” 

”The biggest thing I tell interns is that you have an opportunity to make a very good living right here in Ulster County,” concluded Jameson. “You don’t have to travel to New York City to make six figures; you can do it right here.”