Thirty-three students were awarded certificates of completion at the annual apprentice graduation of the Adult Evening Schools of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools (MCVTS), held at East Brunswick Vo-Tech on May 1.
Apprenticeship programs for electricians and plumbers involve a four- to five-year program of up to 900 hours of classroom study and thousands of hours of on-the-job training with sponsoring organizations.
Graduates Steven Amador of Jamesburg and Michael Ricciardi of Iselin, both electricians with IBEW Local 456 in East Brunswick; Patrick Cherry of Eatontown, an electrician with Walter Danley Electrical Contracting in South River; and class representative Heath Saraceno of Suffern, N.Y., an electrician with Facilities Solution Group in Perth Amboy, were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society, receiving satin stoles and certificates of membership.
Amador and Edward Fofrich of Colonia, an electrician with Local 456, received the Edward J. Fofrich Memorial Award, which goes to IBEW graduates who practice labor union principles by helping classmates in school and co-workers on the job. Fofrich is the grandson of the award’s namesake and was an instructor in the MCVTS apprenticeship program for 25 years.
The Albert Hudanish Leadership Award was presented to Jane Z. Brady, director of workforce development for Middlesex County, in recognition of her support of career and technical education and the MCVTS apprenticeship program.
Certificates of completion were presented to the graduates by John F. Bicsko Jr., president of the MCVTS Board of Education, and Brian J. Loughlin, superintendent of schools. William Kraus, state director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship, addressed the graduates. Dawn Lystad, MCVTS director of adult education and Middlesex County apprenticeship coordinator, was master of ceremonies.
The Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District, the first county vocational school district in the nation, has seven schools on five campuses, in East Brunswick, Edison, Piscataway, Perth Amboy and Woodbridge. The district is marking its centennial in 2014.