NCCC Offers Sweet New Program
SANBORN, N.Y. (Aug. 27, 2008) — Looking for a sweet career? Whether producing baked goods for a grocery store, restaurant or a bakery, or creating desserts for a restaurant, your career can in fact be, sweet with Niagara County Community College now offering an associates degree and one-year certificate in Baking and Pastry Arts beginning this fall.
New York State and the U.S. Department of Labor project the need for qualified bakers will double in the next five to 10 years. Locally, research indicates that 75 percent of the chefs in Western New York would employ graduates of a program such as NCCC's Baking and Pastry Arts program.
“With the success of our certificate in the baking and pastry program, the next step was to add an associates degree program to give students a more cost effective option to continue their studies in this expanding field,” Mark Mistriner, program coordinator said.
Upon completion of the two-year associate in applied science degree program, the graduate will be qualified for employment in above entry-level positions or higher as baker, assistant baker or assistant pastry chef. Employment can be found in private clubs, hotels, restaurants and casinos.
Classes are taught in state-of-the-art kitchen facilities on the Sanborn campus. In addition, students will complete 240 hours of work experience during their third semester.
The faculty at NCCC is all certified by the American Culinary Federation and have worked in various facilities such as the Hyatt, Hilton and Radisson hotels as well as various private clubs in Western New York. They are graduates of such institutions as Johnson and Wales, Penn State, State University of New York at Buffalo and the renowned International School of Confectionary Arts. NCCC believes in employing instructors with the highest degree of education as well as work experience in order to enhance the student's learning experience.
