CAZENOVIA — 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, off-road, 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 engineering 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 Schaumberg. “This includes having the students focused on several areas of development and engineering, the planning process, and finally seeing how we launch the product into mass production.”

Classroom lessons will be taught by a certified OCM BOCES CTE instructor.

“The classroom is right inside Marquardt,” said Cazenovia Central School District Superintendent Christopher DiFulvio. “That makes this such a unique and exciting opportunity for students. They will get to see what engineers do and even work with them on the process.”

Comtois explained that the OCM BOCES CTE instructor will be responsible for guiding students, teaching engineering theory, and serving as a liaison between BOCES and Marquardt.

“The teacher will facilitate learning that is relevant and aligned to the hands-on experiences available on-site,” he added. “BOCES will support resources and technology needs in collaboration with Marquardt. In partnership with Marquardt, the program design is to build interest and passion in the evolving field of engineering, as well as provide students with authentic learning opportunities in a dynamic setting.”

According to DiFulvio, there are college credits associated with OCM BOCES CTE programs, but the exact colleges and number of credits have not been announced yet.

Comtois said that to maximize the opportunities for students in the first year of the program, around eight to 10 year-one (junior) students from across the region will be enrolled beginning next fall. The number of students from Cazenovia High School specifically has yet to be determined.

“We are currently gathering the number of students interested in enrolling in the program from all our component districts,” he said.

On Thursday, Feb. 2, OCM BOCES and Marquardt held two open houses for prospective students and their families at the company’s Route 20 facility.

Find out more about OCM BOCES at ocmboces.org. Learn more about Marquardt at Marquardt-Us-Partners.com (Cazenovia) and Marquardt.com/us (International).