UB’s Educational Opportunity Center shares state job-training grant

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center will receive $2 million to expand a pre-apprenticeship program, one of five projects to share a $15.5 million state grant to enhance training for New Yorkers.

The $1.9 million grant going to the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center is a performance operating grant for a successful Build Pre-Apprenticeship program, bringing a nine-week, paid, direct-entry, pre-apprenticeship program for construction trades to Buffalo.

“The Buffalo EOC is thrilled to partner with the New York State Office of Strategic Workforce Development and the skilled trade unions in Western New York,” says Benjamin Hilligas, executive director of the BEOC.

“Together we will provide new pathways for underrepresented members of our community to access apprenticeships and careers in the trades. With support from New York State, the BEOC will have the resources to support our students on their educational and apprenticeship journey, and eliminate or reduce any barriers to success they may encounter.”

The model emphasizes serving low-income and underserved populations; services include intensive case management to identify and meet the needs of each enrollee, and stipends to offset wages lost during training, according to the grant.

Strong relationships with community partners, including city and union leadership, ensure that trainees will receive the right training at the right time to meet local demand for construction labor, according to the grant. Union instructors will teach the industry recognized Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3), plus career-readiness training and professional development to increase success of direct-entry candidates.

For more than 50 years, the BEOC has been meeting the needs of the area through its development of academic and workforce training curriculum, which connects local labor force needs with employer expectations and demands.

“The mission of the center is to create lifelong learners who become self-empowered and self-sufficient, enhancing economic prosperity for the Western New York community,” Hilligas says. “The BEOC program, aptly named ‘Buffalo Build,’ complements this charge and reflects Buffalo’s nomenclature as the city of Good Neighbors.”

Hilligas praised the grant and Gov. Kathy Hochul for her commitment to providing life-changing opportunities to the Western New York residents that BEOC serves.