SUNY Oneonta carpenter shop associate Kurt Klejbuk cuts a board as part of his job on the campus.
ONEONTA — SUNY Oneonta carpenter shop associates Kurt Klejbuk and Mike Roof already had a wealth of knowledge in the field before taking the carpentry Applied Skills Trade Program offered through NYS & CSEA’s Partnership for Education and Training.
Klejbuk and Roof completed the training in the hopes it could help them advance their careers with the state.
“I’m currently a Grade 6 carpenter shop associate, but hopefully I’ll be in the running for a Grade 9 position that just came up here, which hopefully the class will help me attain,” said Klejbuk, who is also the SUNY Oneonta Local 2nd vice president. “I plan on being with the state until retirement, so anything to move forward and progress my way through the carpentry shop was kind of what I was looking to do.”
The program sessions included basic safety instructions and how to use hand tools and culminated in the group cedar shingling a roof at a state park in Albany.
Although Klejbuk and Roof had previous experience in carpentry, Klejbuk said even those with little to no experience can also benefit from the program.
“I would definitely recommend to others to take advantage of this program,” said Klejbuk. “You can start out with no knowledge and walk away with a real general use of basic carpentry and craftsmanship.”
Klejbuk said he also enjoyed the experience of meeting other members and being able to talk about what’s going on at different SUNY schools and state agencies.
Roof, who took the class to help him advance in his career, even referred people to the program to get started in the carpentry field or to brush up on some skills and add something to their resume like he and Klejbuk did.
— Nicholas Newcomb
