From Training to Career: NYCHA Celebrates New Heating Plant Technicians at City Tech

Eighteen NYCHA residents took a major step toward new careers this winter, graduating from the Authority’s Heating Plant Technician (HPT) training program in a ceremony held at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn on April 2.

For this latest cohort, the moment marked the culmination of six months of intensive, hands-on training, as well as the pursuit of a skilled trade that plays a critical role in keeping NYCHA developments running smoothly.

“Training completion ceremonies are always such memorable and indelible days,” said Andrew O’Connor, a Senior Project Manager of Adult Education and Training for NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability (REES). “I get to meet candidates when they’re just learning about this opportunity. To reconnect with them – in this case, six months later – as they graduate, is a profound thing. The chance to witness that full journey – and to also watch the proud families on that day – feels like a gift.”

The HPT program prepares residents for careers in the operation and maintenance of boiler plants across NYCHA developments. Over six months, participants pursue a full-time schedule that combines classroom learning with on-the-job training: two days each week in the classroom, followed by three days of fieldwork in which each trainee is assigned to a NYCHA development and paired with an experienced mentor.

Just as vital as the technical training to the success of the program is the camaraderie
of the participants – the glue, one might say, that holds the program and its participants together.

“Training completion ceremonies are always such memorable and indelible days,” said Andrew O’Connor, a Senior Project Manager of Adult Education and Training for NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability (REES).

“It’s that combination that really does it,” said Evelyn Melendez, Training Project Manager. “That time in the classroom and then the extensive hands-on training – working directly with the equipment and the systems they’ll be responsible for, learning from their future colleagues who are already seasoned pros – that combo is what makes this program so effective.”

Participants also receive a stipend while in the program — an aspect of the initiative that makes the full-time training more accessible. The program’s structure ensures that even those participants with little or even no prior technical experience emerge with both the skills and the professional confidence to embark on a new professional path.

Just as vital as the technical training to the success of the program is the camaraderie of the participants – the glue, one might say, that holds the program and its participants together.

“To me, one thing that really stands out at graduation is the spirit that has formed among the participants,” Ms. Melendez said. “When all the graduates file up to receive their certificates and portfolios, the whole cohort is standing up and cheering for one another!

“We have also seen program participants be inspired to pursue this path by parents or family members who themselves had built distinguished careers in the field, and who then decided to follow in their family’s footsteps. That’s another wonderful thing this program has been able to do — open doors not just for individuals, but across generations.”