Thanks to partnerships with Alfred State College and SUNY Erie, the center provides certificate and degree programs – all at low to no cost for those who need it and with plenty of wrap-around services to support students through their vocational studies and beyond.
Brothers Build Career Foundations at Northland Workforce Training Center
04.06.23
Story originally published April, 2023 via The Buffalo News
By Kristy Holfoth
Photo by Taylor Griffith Amankwaah, NWTC
As Makahi Hunley’s Tapestry Charter School graduation date approached back in 2020, uncertainty loomed large. The options were overwhelming, and he wasn’t sure which direction to take.
But then his class went on a tour at the Northland Workforce Training Center, a workforce development and trade school located on Northland Avenue in East Buffalo that provides training in fields like welding, electrical construction, machining and mechanical engineering. Suddenly, things got much clearer.
“I’m more of a hands-on person, and I liked that they were offering paths to careers,” Makahi says.
Makahi’s brother, Makell, then still a student at the Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, watched as his brother progressed at Northland. He had been considering pursuing a future in the arts, but as he saw the concepts his brother was studying and the tools he brought home as part of his course work, his interest in learning a trade grew. Before he graduated last year, he toured Northland with his dad to check out the different courses.“When I saw the Mechatronics program, that was it,” Makell said.
Northland, a major initiative under New York State’s Buffalo Billion investment, is a public-private partnership that provides Western New Yorkers with the training needed to fill crucial openings and make a family-sustaining wage in the local advanced manufacturing and energy industries.
Since Northland opened in September 2018, more than 800 students have passed through its doors. And according to its 2021-2022 annual report, it boasts a 62% graduation rate – nearly double the national average for community colleges. It’s currently enrolling for the Fall 2023 semester, and classes are filling fast.
The Hunley brothers say before they attended Northland, they had impressions of trade school that ranged from, at worst, a school for people who don’t want to put in the effort of “actual” college, to, at best, a solution for those who want a degree without the traditional college experience.
The reality is that their classes at Northland – a mix of classroom theory and hands-on experience – have challenged both Makahi and Makell and taught them far more than they were expecting.
“There’s a lot that goes into what I’m learning right now,” said Makahi, who is finishing his last class in the Electrical Construction and Maintenance Electrician program. “It can be complex, but it feels good to learn so much.”
Makahi hopes to get a job locally doing commercial construction once he graduates with his associate’s of occupational studies degree, eventually branching out and going into business for himself.
Meanwhile, Makell’s program is a one-year certificate that teaches skills in areas including electrical, mechanical, hydraulics, pneumatics, robotics and computer technologies. He also hopes to go into the workforce immediately, taking time to consider his options before committing to any more schooling.
“I think it’s important to have a strong foundation, especially in this economy when it’s so hard to buy a house and get ahead,” he says. “I can go out with this degree and start making money to establish that foundation right away.”