Career Guide 2024

WE’RE HIRING in all

(amount is dependent upon position & degree level)

• Competitive wages

• Career Advancement

• Full-timers receive:

- Generous paid time-off, paid holidays & personal days

- Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & Long-term Disability Insurance Plans

- Retirement Plan

- Verizon Wireless Discount

- Pet Insurance

- Flexible Spending Account & more!

Georgia Pacific of Bradford is on a mission. As we continue to make a 40-million-dollar facility investment in our community, we need skilled hands and passionate hearts to join us on our journey!

We have immediate openings for: Skilled Maintenance & Production Associates

Highlights of Working with us Include:

• Competitive Wages with Advancement Opportunities

• 2 weeks paid vacation & 10 paid holidays after 90 days

• Full Benefit Package within the first 30 days of hire

• Immediate 401k eligibility

• $2,500 sign on bonus for eligible maintenance positions

Georgia-Pacific, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose, building products, and related chemicals. Much like the boxes we produce, at Bradford GP, we are built with layers of strength and resilience providing support and stability to our employees and community.

We welcome you to explore the opportunity of becoming part of our team. Please visit us online at kochcareers.com/gp to apply.

OLEAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORP. WORKS TO HELP FILL 1,500 JOBS WITH COME HOME, STAY HOME

By Bob Clark

OLEAN — Several companies in the Olean area and Cattaraugus County are — or will be — in need of workers. The Olean Business Development Corp. is working to help fill those needs with the Come Home, Stay Home initiative.

OBDC Executive Director Bob Forness explained that several promotional videos produced for the effort highlight the largest local manufacturers and businesses.

It’s quite the undertaking for the small nonprofit, but the push for such videos — which will number around eight when all are released — is to help those businesses recruit more than 1,000 workers over the next few years.

“As we collected info from entities and businesses … it’s over 1,500 jobs now,” Forness said, with about 60% of those positions being created in the next few years, while the other 40% are aimed to fill positions vacated by retirements. “It’s a mix of what I’d call organic growth and retirements.”

And who is the target audience?

“We want to have previous area residents move home, knowing that there’s jobs here. The whole gamut — from startups to established firms,” Forness said.

The Come Home, Stay Home initiative includes a social media campaign, a series of articles on job opportunities, and direct outreach to potential jobseekers. So far, OBDC has been involved with two job fairs with Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES to help students realize what jobs are in the area, as well as a January job fair with Cattaraugus-Allegany Workforce Development Board and Jamestown Community College which attracted around 100 people.

“This is a really good time for Olean,” said John Bartimole of OBDC. “It is a safe community, the cost of living is good. The job opportunities are good.” That job fair was timed not in line

with many normal hiring cycles for graduates, but for those college students who were home for the semester break, Bartimole said, helping them see opportunities to return to the area after graduation or the beginning of their careers.

Bartimole noted that he, as well as Forness, were originally from the area, left for careers, and later returned for work. That model could be key to helping fill the many vacancies expected to open up in the near future.

Along with big firms — Cimolai-HY reactivating much of the former Siemens Energy plant for structural steel manufacturing, expansions at Great Lakes Cheese in Franklinville, efforts at Cutco on East State Street — Bartimole noted that nonprofits like Olean General Hospital and school districts, along with smaller businesses, expect to expand or replace retiring workers in the next few years.

“This is an opportunity that Olean

can take advantage of — Olean and the surrounding communities,” Bartimole said. “If we don’t strike while the iron is hot, it may pass us by.”

Laine Business Accelerator continues to showcase small businesses

The Laine Business Accelerator highlighted 11 more ventures — 10 for-profit and one non-profit — in the LBA’s third cohort at the end of 2023.

Participating ventures included Magro Speech Therapy, Syntori Collective, Marquee Brewing, SheBe Marketing, Sarah Blovsky Photography, Kelly Design and Development, Sorvillo Services, Swan Street Florist, Canticle Farm, ZET’s Entertainment and Miss Heidi’s Music Studio.

Along with giving presentations on their ventures during an event in the Cutco Theater on Olean’s Jamestown Community College campus, the cohort voted for Marissa Magro of Magro

Speech Therapy to receive the James Stitt Sr. Community Builders Award. The award aims to honor community impact, in the case of Magro working to create an inclusive Halloween party at Challenger Learning Center catering to children with neurodivergent conditions.

The accelerator program is hosted by OBDC in collaboration with the St. Bonaventure University Innovation Center and SUNY Jamestown Community College.

In its first two years, LBA helped 14 businesses to grow. Including the $5,000 in funds for each participant in the current cohort, the program has now provided $135,000 in support to local businesses.

The namesake of the program is the late Erick Laine, former chairman and CEO of Alcas and Cutco. Laine passed away Dec. 1, 2020, at the age of 87.

Photo by Bob Clark

Bob Forness, executive director of the Olean Business Development Corp., poses in The Hub, a communal working space in the OBDC headquarters on North Union Street.

JCC OFFERING DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL SHORT-TERM PROGRAM AT NO COST

SUNY Jamestown Community College now offers three new microcredential programs that provide required training and education for direct support professionals who are in high demand in Western New York and across the state.

The programs are free for a limited time to students who are New York state residents.

SUNY JCC has three levels of its direct support professional program that prepares students to earn national certification with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals as they earn college credits. Each of the direct support professional microcredentials is nine or 10 credits and can be completed in one semester.

Direct support professionals help

people with physical and developmental challenges to increase self reliance and support goals of living more independently in their communities. The role might include duties such as caregiving and providing assistance with daily activities, employment, transportation and emotional support, as well as advocating for rights and services.

JCC’s direct support professional programs are free for New York residents — including tuition, fees, books, course materials and NADSP credentialing — thanks to a partnership with SUNY and the state Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.

A $32 million investment from NYS OPWDD will allow JCC and other SUNY colleges to operate the program

through 2030, or until funds are exhausted.

“Our commitment to providing accessible and innovative programs aligns perfectly with the Direct Support Professional microcredential initiative, which enhances the skills of our students and addresses the critical need for compassionate care for individuals with developmental disabilities,” Daniel DeMarte, JCC president, said. “This investment will empower our students and make a tangible difference in the lives of those we serve. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important endeavor.”

Professor Shannon Bessette played an important role in establishing the direct support professional programs.

“Our region is in dire need of trained and caring professionals to support people who face daily physical and development challenges,” Bessette said. “It is crucial that JCC be on the front lines of human services education and offer students the education needed for this all-important line of work. We have seen

that students are eager to get started in these careers, which is very exciting.”

JCC’s Direct Support Professional 1 requires one hybrid course at a JCC location in Jamestown, Olean or Dunkirk, while DSP-2 and-3 can be completed online. Students can further use these earned credits to pursue JCC A.S. degrees in Human Services and Individual studies. Eligible students also may receive a $750 stipend upon completion of each microcredential.

JCC’s microcredentials are short, focused credentials that provide in-demand skills and learning experiences for current students and working professionals. Each microcredential helps students build industry-specific skills that support professional development, stack into a related certificate or degree, or complement a specific field of study.

The DSP microcredentials are open to new students in the fall. To learn more, visit sunyjcc.edu/DSP or call (800) 3888557.

SENECA HIGHLANDS CAREER AND TECH CENTER BUILDING EMPLOYABLE ADULTS

By Sara Furlong

PORT

ALLEGANY

— Seneca Highlands Career and Tech Center (CTC), 219 Edison Bates Drive, offers a program to help train emergency response providers.

Public Safety and Security teaches students the skills they need to serve the public as firefighters, law enforcement and emergency responders.

“Students participate in practical applications and situational learning experiences while preparing to test for national, state, and local certifications in all three areas,” according to the center’s website, iu9ctc.org.

The program is one of 10 offered through the CTC’s Students Occupationally and Academically Ready (S.O.A.R.) curriculum, aimed at preparing students for occupations in high demand with high-skill needs, which includes automotive mechanics, building construction occupations, culinary arts, early childhood education, engineering technology, health assistance, heavy equipment maintenance, networking and security and welding technologies.

The center, operating under Intermediate Unit 9, serves 10 of the IU9’s 14 districts in McKean, Cameron, Elk and Potter counties.

CTC Director James Young explained the center’s enrollment has held steady over the past 10 to 20 years, despite the decrease seen overall in IU9.

“Our enrollment today is 300 students,” he said earlier this year. “When I came in 2012, enrollment was 254. That’s good considering the decline in the districts.”

CTC students can also earn college credits while meeting high school graduation requirements through Pennsylvania College of Technology, a nationally accredited dual enrollment provider.

The center even supports adult education with programs organized through the Potter County Education Council and

Northern Pennsylvania Regional College.

“In addition to our regular programs that help parents develop the skills they need to fully participate in the education of their children, find sustainable employment, and earn their GED, at the CTC, adults can also earn DOT-recognized certifications for vehicle inspecting,” the site reads.

Adult students learn during the evening, while half of the participating districts attend in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.

Some districts bring fifth- and sixthgrade students during career exploration, and all ninth-grade students take a tour through the center and all its shops. Interested students then complete the center’s three-year programs in grades 10 through 12.

“Each district has different procedures for choosing students (to attend),” Young said. “They want to see students with good attendance, grades and behavior, and are truly interested in being here.”

The center has graduated approximately 250 to 300 students every year since its establishment in 1979. Participating districts send anywhere from approximately 2% of their enrolled students, such as at Austin and Galeton, to 8% at Coudersport and Cameron County, 15% from Otto-Eldred and Smethport and 21 percent out of nearby Port Allegany.

“Not all of the students who come here go directly into their trade, but every student that comes here is better prepared for any career they go into,” Young said.

“They learn how to work with people, how to work as a team, critical thinking skills, leadership skills, chain of command and of course safety.

“Those are the things companies are looking for first. Any company will tell you, ‘Give me that and I can train them.’

In that context, 100 percent of our students are better prepared for any job they end up in,” Young said. “They leave here more employable than when they came in.”

Seneca Highlands Career and Technical Center students traveled to Williamsport earlier this year to compete in the District 6 Skills USA competition at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Skilled workers and access to technical training are important features of rural areas like north central Pennsylvania.

File photo

GET SCHOOLED ON VOCATIONAL TRAINING

High school graduates or individuals looking to explore continuing education at any age have various options. Among the most popular options is enrolling in a college or university. Studying a trade in a vocational school is another popular option.

WHAT ARE VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS?

Vocational schools are sometimes referred to as career or trade schools. Vocational schools tend to offer certificate programs that are much shorter in duration than traditional college degree programs, and train students for skilled jobs. Vocational programs prepare individuals for careers in electrical work, hairstyling and cosmetology, certified nursing aids, automotive work, and HVAC services, among others.

COST OF ATTENDANCE

Cost of education is an important factor when choosing a career, and the cost of vocational school is no exception. The College Board says trade school costs between $5,000 and $15,000 on average for a three- to 18-month program. By comparison, the national average for a two-year degree program at public and private colleges can range from $3,621 to $15,333 per year. The cost to attend a four-year college is considerably higher, though it varies widely by institution.

NerdWallet reports that, as of 2021, total student loan debt in the United States exceeded $1.61 trillion. Vocational school can be a much more affordable option than attending college, without the specter of large amounts of debt looming once the training is over.

JOIN OUR HEALTHCARE TEAM!

The Pines Healthcare & Rehabilitation Centers –Olean Campus is now hiring full and part time CNAs, LPNs and 1 full time evening shift RN Supervisor!

• Starting pay for CNAs is $21.54/hr., plus shift differential.

• Starting pay for LPNs is $27.60/hr., plus shift differential.

• Starting pay for RN Supervisor is $44.71/hr., plus shift differential. Permanent appointment requires successful completion, and placement, thru the Civil Service examination process. 1 full time evening shift RN Supervisor.

FT Positions!

We offer an excellent benefit package including uniform allowance, sick incentive, health insurance, vision and dental coverage; 10 days paid vacation after your first year; 11 days off in lieu of holidays; 4 personal days and NYS Retirement

PT Positions also available!

Benefits include: 6% PTO for hours worked, time and a half on 6 major holidays, uniform allowance, sick incentive and NYS Retirement.

Must be licensed/certified in NY and available to work every other weekend and some holidays.

Drop off or mail application to 2245 West State Street, Olean, NY 14760 or apply online at https://cattco-portal.mycivilservice.com.

Contact Jen Childs Lowe, Director of Nursing, at 716-373-1910, ext. 4444 for more information.  You must fill out an application to apply. EOE.

AN OBVIOUS JOB PATH

Many higher education concentrations are confronting low enrollment, while vocational programs are doing quite well, according to The Hechinger Report, which covers innovation and equality in education. The reason may be that vocational training presents a clear career path, and a more secure way to a solid job. Mechanic and repair trade programs had an enrollment increase of 11.5 percent from spring 2021 to 2022, indicates the National Student Clearinghouse.

“America is lending money it doesn’t have to kids who can’t pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist,” says Mike Rowe, television personality and founder of the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, which offers scholarship money to those who are pursuing the trades. Rowe feels that America has convinced people that the best path for most people is an expensive education. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates there are more than seven million jobs avail-

able across the U.S. that do not require a four-year-degree.

ADVANTAGES TO VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS

Trade school students can look forward to some benefits.

• hands-on learning

• more rigid schedule

• efficient time usage

• faster class pace

• small class sizes

• ability for licensure, where needed

• lower costs of attendance compared to other types of schooling

• instructors who are experts in their fields

Vocational schools are an option for students right out of high school or those returning to school later in life. Such schools provide access to millions of rewarding and lucrative jobs that can offer financial security.

HOW TO LAND A JOB AFTER GRADUATION

The road to graduation can be long and winding. Graduation often is an exciting time in a person’s life. However, it also may spark some anxiety as newly minted grads prepare to look for jobs and begin their careers.

An unpredictable economic climate coupled with the rising cost of education can make soon-to-be graduates curious about what awaits them after graduation. According to the market data reporting firm Gitnux, 86 percent of college graduates can expect to find jobs within six months of graduation.

While the economy can affect how quickly new grads begin their careers, it’s not the only variable that affects where grads go after tossing their caps in the air.

early to think about the hiring process and what can be done to improve your profile as a candidate. Maintain a grade point average that will impress employers, suggests Indeed. Also, part-time jobs and internships in your field will help you gain valuable experience and determine if working in a particular field is a good fit.

• Select an off-peak time to search for a job. Many people start searching and applying for jobs at the same time, typically after graduation ceremonies in December and May. That floods the market with applicants. Increase the chances your résumé is read by staggering when you apply for jobs and sending out

essential to cater your résumé to the specific job to which you are applying. Include key words that match those in the job listing and will attract the attention of hiring managers. If you do not yet have experience, replace that section on the résumé with your accomplishments or special projects you have worked on.

• Network as much as possible. Many job openings are learned about through personal relationships. Employers may not advertise widely and hope that word of mouth will bring applicants to their doors, or through recommendations from other employees. Reach out to

• Consider growth-stage companies. The University of Missouri Career Center says growthstage companies tend to hire entry level professionals who do not necessarily have a lot of experience. These are fast-growing companies looking to expand their operations and build company culture.

• Utilize networking social media apps. Indeed and LinkedIn enable people to network and make it easy to apply for jobs directly through their sites or apps. There’s even the option to passively apply for jobs by having a résumé uploaded where companies can search and find you if your skills are a match.