Carmine Galtieri grew up in Greene County with an avid interest in Cars and Computers. After graduating from High School in June of 2017, he was looking for a way to combine those interests into a rewarding career – preferably without racking up a lot of student loan debt. He found the answer at Columbia-Greene Community College’s Automotive Technology Program.
Carmine enrolled in a two-year Associates of Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) course of study with financial assistance through the NYS Excelsior Scholarship Program which enables students from families earning less than $125,000 a year to attend a SUNY or CUNY school tuition-free. His remaining fees and books totaled around $300 a semester, and he earned his degree with no debt.
C-GCC’s Automotive Technology Program is made up of 4 on-campus semesters and two summer internships with a local employer.
Carmine began his first internship with R.C. Lacy in Catskill during the summer of 2018 under Service Manager, Pat Zimmer. “We enjoy a great relationship with the program,” states Pat. “as well as long-standing connections with its instructors. They know we are constantly looking for team players with a strong work ethic that can follow instructions and want a career – not just a job.”
Strong, two-way communication between instructors and employers is the key.
“We lost two years of the workforce pipeline for Auto Techs because of pandemic restrictions” notes General Manager Troy Lacy, who represents the 4th generation of the over 100-year-old company. “We could hire four more entry-level techs at any time, and put them right to work. We also need to grow the skills of our younger employees, so they’re able to fill positions of more senior techs as they move on.”
In his role as Service Manager, Pat’s approach to professional development is hands-on. “We start everyone in the service department on the Lube Line where they learn to work in tandem with a partner and follow the instructions of their line supervisor. Then we work with each team member to find the career path that is best for their interests and capabilities. Once we’ve settled on a direction, we work with our manufacturers to enroll employees in the specific factory training courses they’ll need to succeed.”
Employed full-time at R.C. Lacy since completing his A.A.S. degree at C-GCG, the next step for Carmine is specializing in Ford Info-tainment systems that safely connect communication devices and deliver audio and video content in the passenger cabin. – Computers. Cars. Carmine. CHECK!
1st Photo L to R: Troy Lacy – General Mgr.,
Carmine Galtieri- Auto Tech,
Pat Zimmer – Service Mgr.
R.C. Lacy, Inc.
2nd Photo – Carmine UTH (under the hood)
