SUNY Oswego’s second Instructor Bootcamp cohort will begin on Dec. 5 with a kick-off ceremony at SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse Campus followed by participants completing 40 hours of synchronous online instruction two evenings per week taught by SUNY Oswego School of Education faculty members. In addition, eligible participants are also able to complete a two-day Building Trades MC3 Train-the-Trainer course taught by grant partner TradesFutures, Washington, D.C., based non-profit corporation that develops, promotes, and improves Apprenticeship Readiness Programs (ARPs) across the nation including here in Central New York.   

The second cohort will run through Feb. 20, 2024.

Cohort Two follows a very successful inaugural cohort that included 11 participants who completed the Instructor Bootcamp last month with a 100 percent completion rate and are now working for regional workforce development partners.  

The SUNY Oswego Instructor Bootcamp is funded for two years (July 2023 to July 2025) through a $340,963 Pay for Performance Operating Grant awarded to the SUNY Research Foundation by the Empire State Development Office of Strategic Workforce Development. The program was created to train up to 120 professionals from high-demand career fields including construction, healthcare and advanced manufacturing to become instructors in regional high schools, community colleges, adult education, and apprenticeship programs to help train the next generation of workers. 

Last fall, SUNY Oswego's Kristi Eck, Assistant Vice President of Workforce Innovation and External Relations and the Instructor Bootcamp Principal Investigator/Project Director, brought the idea to create an Instructor Bootcamp to SUNY Oswego colleagues, including School of Education Dean Dr. Laura Spenceley and Career and Technical Educator (CTE) Preparation Department Chair Dr. Ben Ogwo, after hearing more about the region’s shortage of trained instructors with industry experience, and knowing that SUNY Oswego’s School of Education and exemplary faculty could greatly contribute to a solution that helps the region achieve its workforce and economic development goals. 

Eck explained, "Following the Micron announcement, I shared the need and opportunity to create what has become the Instructor Bootcamp with SUNY Oswego colleagues and CTE faculty, and they warmly embraced the idea. We then worked together to write the grant application with input and support from early partners: Cayuga Community College, CenterState CEO, Mohawk Valley Community College, Syracuse Build, the SUNY Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), and area BOCES to create a curriculum and a program that would be accessible, attractive, beneficial and enjoyable for participants while preparing them to help meet our region’s workforce development needs and expectations.” 

Leveraging SUNY Oswego’s strengths to address regional needs

SUNY Oswego is thrilled to lead this regional initiative that helps drive workforce innovation and upward mobility in our region and state, Eck said. The purpose and principles behind the creation of the Instructor Bootcamp directly align with the vision of new SUNY Oswego President Peter O. Nwosu, who started his presidency on Aug. 15 and is dedicated to making the region and state the best place to work and live.

The Instructor Bootcamp’s delivery is based on SUNY Oswego's 162 year-old tradition of "learning by doing" with a combination of in-person, online and micro-teaching embedded into the 40-hour program. Each participant is referred by one of SUNY Oswego’s workforce development partners. Participants enroll and participate, at no cost to them, in the 40-hour hybrid program, receive a laptop to use during the Bootcamp and then keep for future teaching, and they earn a $1,000 participation stipend if they complete the 40-hour Bootcamp. In addition, participants also receive a $100 completion bonus after they successfully finish the program and are hired by a workforce development partner. 

Cohort Two workforce development partners include Cayuga Community College, CenterState CEO, Mohawk Valley Community College, SUNY EOC, Syracuse Build and UNiCON. TradesFutures is also a very important partner in the Instructor Bootcamp for their role in providing the MC3 Train-the-Trainer instruction. 

Goals of the Instructor Bootcamp

The Instructor Bootcamp was designed to provide the participants the opportunity to learn about various aspects of instruction through five modules: 

  • Curriculum and Laboratory Management Systems
  • Integration of Technology in Curriculum Design and Implementation
  • Serving Diverse Learners in Career and Technical Education
  • Instructional Delivery and Assessment in Skills Training
  • Social Emotional Learning and Career Counseling

“It is particularly rewarding to see people with so much industry expertise begin to truly see themselves as teachers,” said Anneke McEvoy, SUNY Oswego Affirmative Action Officer, deputy chief diversity and inclusion officer for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and one of the lead writers of the Instructor Bootcamp grant application. “This is also a perfect program for us to demonstrate how informed, committed and facile our Career and Technical Education Program faculty are, bringing decades of teaching expertise to skilled workers in a flexible format that values both their time and their expertise.”

Benjamin Ogwo, chair of the Career and Technical Education Department is excited about the prospect for the department to expand from teacher to trainer preparation, and to showcase the faculty’s skills in workforce development.

“The university has a commitment to serve the community by developing a qualified labor force for the area. The project is one of the initiatives that supports this mission,” said Ogwo. “It aims to train and equip participants with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed as trainers in their respective occupations and contribute to the regional economy.”

Contributing to economic growth and opportunity 

Mohawk Valley Community College President Randall J. VanWagoner recognized the Instructor Bootcamp as a program that will lead to future economic growth across the state.

“At Mohawk Valley Community College, we are thrilled to capitalize on the invaluable resources offered by SUNY Oswego's Instructor Bootcamp — a cornerstone in enhancing professional development for our Career Technical Education instructors — and we are deeply grateful for their leadership in this initiative,” said VanWagoner. “Additionally, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the funding provided by New York State to assist in making this strategic partnership effectively train the next generation of skilled talent to help drive economic prosperity.”

Cayuga Community College Vice President Keiko Kimura reiterated the importance of this program for future generations.

“The SUNY Oswego Instructor Bootcamp is a tremendous program, one that offers a pathway for industry experts in high-demand fields to access short-term, high-quality instructor training before they teach the next generation of skilled tradespeople,” Kimura said. “Cayuga is looking forward to sending more future candidates to the next cohort of the program.” 

“I am pleased to emphasize the significance of SUNY Oswego’s Instructor Bootcamp. It is essential for seasoned construction professionals to actively contribute by imparting their invaluable expertise,” said Christopher Montgomery, director of Syracuse Build. “This Bootcamp not only refines teaching skills but also plays a pivotal role in shaping a knowledgeable and skilled workforce for the future.”

“TradesFutures is proud to partner with SUNY Oswego on this first in the nation model to train industry professionals in the skills necessary to support job-seekers in their pursuit of new careers,” said Nicole Schwartz, TradesFutures executive director. “We believe that through supporting instructors, we’ll build a diverse workforce better prepared to meet the needs of the once in a lifetime public and private investments in infrastructure.”

Subsequent Instructor Bootcamp cohorts will begin in March 2024, June 2024, September 2024, December 2024, and March 2025. For more information, please visit www.oswego.edu/instructor-bootcamp and/or email:  instructor.bootcamp@oswego.edu.