More than 1,000 Prospective Students Look at BOCES for Career and Technical Education

ALBANY/SCHOHARIE – Hundreds of prospective students from more than a dozen area school districts have learned about the pathways to professional and educational success at Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center during tours of the Albany and Schoharie campuses in recent weeks.

Students from Burnt Hills to Cobleskill and Cohoes to Middleburgh tried their hands at everything from muffin making to wiring to welding while meeting current students and faculty and gaining insight into the benefits of a career and technical education (CTE).

Some of the interested students checked out career options, while others already knew what they wanted to do and sought the certifications, skills and competitive edge a CTE education affords them.

“I want to get into [Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation] and eventually become a forestry operator,” said Tucker Kean, a Shenendehowa student.

“I have always wanted to learn more about criminal justice. My aunt is a police officer, and my father and her worked in a prison together,” said another prospect, Avrie Demick from Cobleskill-Richmondville.

Approximately 800 prospective students toured the Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus during January and February, and hundreds more students toured the Schoharie Campus.

Once an education path for those students only seeking vocational skills, career and technical education is now a pathway for students looking to build career skills, get a start on their college education or just learn a life skill that will allow them to pay for college. At Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School, more than 70% of high school students pursue higher education, while many others directly enter the workforce with a highly technical skill set in areas such as cooking, network cabling or operating heavy equipment.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s River Hughson hopes BOCES can prepare him for a technological future working in a data center.

“I really like the computers they use in data centers, and I think it would be a good job,” he said while splicing wire during a tour of the Network Technology program.

Enrollment is currently underway for the 2025-26 school year. For more information on CTE, visit the Capital Region BOCES website - https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/.