OCM BOCES, Marquardt Switches announce student technology program

Submitted pHotoS

On Jan. 19, Onondaga-Cortland-Madison (OCM) BOCES announced the upcoming launch of a new, two-year engineering technology program that will allow high school students across the region to learn in an on-site classroom at Marquardt Switches, inc., and to work side-by-side with industry professionals at the company’s North American headquarters in Cazenovia. The program is scheduled to launch in September 2023.

By kAtE hill Staff writer

In September 2023, Onondaga-Cortland-Madison (OCM) BOCES will launch a new two-year Career and Technical Education (CTE) Engineering Technology program that will allow high schools students across the region to learn in an on-site classroom at Marquardt Switches, Inc., and to work side-by-side with industry professionals at the company’s North American headquarters in Cazenovia at 2711 Route 20

East. According to a Jan. 19 press release announcing the partnership, Marquardt is a total solution provider for the automotive, offroad, and home industries, and it is expanding into the defense, aerospace, drone, and medical markets. It offers prototype development, testing services, equipment building and automation, product assembly, and supply-chain management — all under one roof.

Designed for juniors and seniors, the new engineer- ing technology program is aimed at exposing students to engineering concepts and practices, preparing them for college and careers in the field, and generating a pipeline of workers for a rapidly expanding high-tech industry.

“At Marquardt, we aim to inspire the local students in our community to be the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers,” said Traci Schaumberg, marketing communications lead for Marquardt, U.S. “This partnership was started between OCM

BOCES and Marquardt as a way to help get students out of the classroom and gain real-life exposure to the latest technologies and processes that manufacturers use in the industry today. This provides students with an early look into the career paths that are available and that they may want to pursue in the future. Additionally, manufacturers can provide students with mentors who can offer valuable advice and guidance on how to succeed. Marquardt and OCM BOCES are working together to help bridge the gap between education and industry.”

Students in the program will spend half of their school day, about two and a half hours, at Marquardt five days a week during both their junior and senior years. The other half of each day will be spent in the students’ home schools. Students will be bused to and from the facility each day.

“The two-year program allows students to build foundational learning, as well as work within specialized areas of interest and active projects at Marquardt,” said Eric Comtois, OCM BOCES director of CTE and Innovative Education.

According to Schaumberg, the main focus of the two-year program will be a product launch for an electric vehicle company. As they work on the project, students will get to collaborate with several departments throughout Marquardt, including engineering, sales, program management, and operations.

“The students will get to experience the entire Product Engineering Process with a real-life product Marquardt is helping to develop and manufacture for an electric vehicle company,” said Schaum-