Apprenticeship Helps Cayuga Student Advance Career

Coming back to college after being out of the classroom for more than 20 years, Michael Kloss was worried he might be a little rusty.

But after three years of excellence in Cayuga’s advanced manufacturing courses, the Florida native knows he’s built the foundation for a stellar career after completing a Department of Labor apprenticeship in Electro-Mechanical Technician and earning a promotion at work.

“The courses I’ve taken at Cayuga have been amazing and helped me tremendously advance my career. The instructors and professors all played a huge role in me learning the material necessary to progress through the apprenticeship,” he said. “Especially since I haven’t been in a classroom setting in 22 years and was unsure if I still had it within myself to go back to school after so long.”

“I can say that from the start, Michael was a hardworking and dedicated student who always made an effort to not just ‘get the work done’, but to truly master the content,” said Stacey Canino, Instructor and Coordinator of Advanced Manufacturing Initiatives at Cayuga.

Kloss started at Cayuga in 2023, taking advanced manufacturing courses including Machine Tools, Solid Modeling, and Measuring Instruments. This spring he completed the apprenticeship, which is sponsored by MACNY and funded by SUNY, which included college credits and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training at EmCom Inc., where Kloss is employed.

After so long out of the classroom, Kloss said there were definitely times where he needed to adjust to completing his coursework while still working full-time and being present with his family.

His family and EmCom were extremely supportive of his efforts, he added.

“My employer even allowed me to take some courses during my work shift, so that my classes weren’t all at night and didn’t interfere too much with time with my family,” he said. “My wife above all has been behind me and supportive. Every time I questioned or doubted myself, she just kept reassuring me that I could do this and definitely had a huge role in me getting to the finish line.”

This spring, as he was completing the apprenticeship at Cayuga, he was promoted from a Maintenance Technician at EmCom to a Junior Manufacturing Engineer. All the coursework, training, and experience from the apprenticeship paid off, said Kloss.

Since he received the promotion, Kloss has woken up each day with purpose and excitement.

“With the apprenticeship, I worked alongside people who lived and breathed in the industry and gained firsthand knowledge and experiences. I was able to gain not only a job from the whole experience but a lifelong career,” he said. “Having the opportunity to learn new things and feel challenged each day motivates me to grow in my new position.”