Roderick Thompson returned to Buffalo after more than 40 years living in California.  And when he came home, he also wanted to jump back into the electronics industry where he worked for many years.

  • The Northland Workforce Training Center is finishing up its first two years preparing students for jobs in manufacturing and energy
  • According to the Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance, there are more than 3,000 open jobs in those fields in our area
  • The training center is expanding with more than 300 students projected next school year

So he got a job at Allied Circuits in Buffalo, building electronic components for control panels used in a variety of industries such as aerospace, filtration, and oil and gas.

"They have robots that are connected to some of these panels also. It's not just motor control. It's also robotics," Thompson said. "It's ever-evolving. There's no limits in what's happening."

Even at 62 years old, he wants to stay on the cutting edge of technology. So after working his day job, he's been taking night classes in mechatronics at the Northland Workforce Training Center on Buffalo's East Side.

The $65 million facility opened last September offering one and two-year certificate and degree programs through SUNY Erie and Alfred State College. The training prepares people to work as electricians, welders, machinists and technicians. The Workforce Training Center then helps place students in jobs with starting salaries of $30,000 to $50,000. 

The Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance, which partners with the Northland WTC, says there are about 3,000 open advanced manufacturing and energy positions available in our area right now, and predicts the need for 20,000 over the next decade as people in those jobs now retire. More training is needed for others to step in as new technologies emerge.

"It's 21st century, in-demand job skills in advanced manufacturing and energy, and we're already seeing the results of that," said Northland WTC President & CEO Stephen Tucker. "With robotics, with hydraulics, with pneumatics, you have to have a higher skill set."

Through its first two semesters, Northland WTC enrolled 175 students from 17 to 65 years old. Almost two-thirds of them come from minority backgrounds, and about 20 percent are women.

"We want to make sure that everybody has the opportunity for family sustainable wages," Tucker said.

Through the first year as a program, Tucker says they're learning better ways to keep people in school once they start. They ended up with about 70 percent of students staying with the program, slightly less than their initial goal of 80 percent retention.

"I think we need to continue to build our wrap-around services. The wrap-around services include assistance with transportation, assistance with child care, assistance with food," Tucker said. 

The training center is planning to be bigger in its second year, with projections of at least 300 students by January. An additional 10,000 square feet of instruction space and more teachers are being added to handle the demand. 

"That tells me that people really want to be in careers where they can successfully take care of their families," Tucker said, who adds some 75 percent of students are working other jobs while in school.

That's the case for Roderick Thompson, who will earn his certificate with high hopes of advancing his career, and proving you're never too old to learn. 

"Maybe I'll be the next programmer for some robot in some big company," he said.