Students from all 5 Orleans school districts will attend career exploration event in Batavia

GLOW With Your Hands highlights careers in building trades, advanced manufacturing

Students from all five school districts in Orleans County will be part of the fourth annual Glow With Your Hands event on Tuesday in Batavia at the Genesee County Fairgrounds.

The event is expected to draw 1,000 students from 30 school districts. There will be 65 area companies at the event giving students first-hand activities associated with careers in various fields, including advanced manufacturing, technology, welding, bricklaying, electrical wiring, agriculture, food production, heavy equipment operation and many others.

Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina students are scheduled to participate in the event, which includes representatives from many employers, trade unions and the manufacturing and construction industries.

“By collaborating with local businesses to learn what skills are needed for their future workforce we in turn can help the future pipeline of workers attain those skills through programs and initiatives like GLOW With Your Hands,” said Jay Lazarony, GLOW With Your Hands Co-Chair. “There is an immediate need for the next generation of skilled workers, and we are all working together to meet this demand.”

Chris Suozzi GCEDC vice president of business & workforce development for the Genesee County Economic Development Center, is co-chair of the event.

“The GLOW region has become a hub for workforce development because of events such as GLOW With Your Hands which provides hands-on experiences in growing and emerging fields that can lead to good paying career opportunities without students having to incur the cost of a college education,” he said.