so that the businesses can thrive. When there are new businesses in the process of relocating to the Albany area, we are part of that welcome mat. We have an all-hands-on-deck approach to partnership with our industry collaborators.” FROM SCHOOL TO COLLEGE TO CAREER About 30 percent of seniors from local area high schools go directly to LBCC after graduation, and for some, what they learn there is life-changing. “I worked at that program years ago, and it opened a lot of different doors for me,” says Hans Randklev, owner of HR Mechanical Services, a local plumbing, pipe-fitting, and pipe-welding/fabrication business, who studied welding and fabrication technology at LBCC. “I was a kid who didn’t like school; I flourished with my hands and not my brain. And I’m very fortunate to be where I am now. I think that if I didn’t have the opportunity to go to LBCC, I don’t know where I’d be today. My high school welding teacher helped me get a scholarship to go there. I want younger people to have the same opportunities that I did.” Another former student, Marc Rose, is now the Department Co-chair of the school’s welding program. He believes that getting students to visit the campus is key in exposing them to the opportunities that exist in the area for trained tradespeople. “Hans and I both went to the same high school and we had probably one of the best vocational programs, not only in the state, but across the nation,” he recounts “We were very fortunate to be exposed to several different vocational career paths, which students today aren’t as exposed to. So, getting these students out here, just so they can see what the possibilities are has been huge.” Avery reports that LBCC even reaches out to middleschoolers. “Previously, much of the outreach was high-school focused, and we think we need to get students’ attention and begin that empowerment in middle school,” she remarks. “So we’ve reached younger and younger to try to help with that early career pathway.” “We bring middle-schoolers out on tours,” adds Rose. “In the 50 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 07
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