Today we feature SSCS senior Wesley Willoughby, a student in the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation (HERO) program at the BOCES Career and Technical Education Center – Schoharie Campus. Through the program, Wesley has amassed more than 100 Work Based Learning (WBL) hours at EC Buck Industries in Canajoharie, learning firsthand the finer points of the construction industry.
He also works part time for the company outside of school hours and plans to turn that experience into full-time employment upon graduation in June.
“I am a laborer right now,” said Wesley, “doing mudding, transport materials, point walls and other work. But when I graduate, I will be able to operate equipment like the skid steer, dump truck and others rigs to dig out foundations and do other work.”
“It’s different work,” he added. “It’s enjoyable and makes you think.”
Through (WBL), students in virtually every Capital Region BOCES CTE program work side-by-side with industry professionals during school hours in area workplaces. They gain credits toward completion of their CTE program and, in some instances, are paid for their work.
Wesley says gaining the work experience has been valuable and taught him a lot about construction and the daily work life. He also credits the HERO program with shifting his professional future into overdrive.
“HERO is a good program because you get to operate a lot of cool equipment,” he said. “You also have the opportunity to learn new skills that can help you in life.”
