Center for Career Services to Launch New Program

The SWBOCES Center for Career Services will launch an exciting new program next year, one of the first of its kind in United States, designed to prepare high school students for careers in the security and emergency services industry.

The comprehensive two-year Emergency Protective Services program provides classroom and practical experience for students interested in becoming first responders, including police offers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and security guards. Students enrolled in the program will also be trained in policing techniques and HAZMAT controls. Instruction on legal and medical theory and practicum will be another focus of the program's curriculum.

"We are very excited about this new initiative," said Linda Suarez, Director of the SWBOCES Center for Career Services, which currently serves about 800 high school students from various local school districts.   Ms. Suarez said the program can be a starting point for students interested in the medical field. All Emergency Medical Technician students will be trained in compliance with the state Department of Health mandates, she said, including an eight-hour rotation at a participating hospital.  

The Center for Career Services in Valhalla offers career and technical education classes in a variety of disciplines, including automotive technology, carpentry, commercial art, computer information technology, multimedia production, TV/video production, and more.

The establishment of the EPS program is particularly timely. Since 9/11, the demand for security guard services, for example, has dramatically increased, said Clem Ceccarelli, supervisor of the Center's secondary day program. Those services and their employees must be sophisticated and well-trained to deal effectively with many kinds of emergency situations, said Dr. Ceccarelli.

Students who successfully complete the EPS program will be eligible to receive academic credit in English and Science that can be used to meet their high school graduation requirements.   They will also receive state certification as EMTs and or as security guards and become eligible to take examinations for licensure by the State of New York.

"The idea is to give students enough knowledge so that they will make intelligent career choices," said Dr. Ceccarelli.