Varis Scientific Glassblowing Apprentices Prepare to Graduate

November and the first week of December were very busy for the apprentices in the Varis Program.  Students had a number of site visits:

• Eastern MillWorks  - wood crafting manufacturer in Jersey City.  This visit, hosted by NJIT presented a state-of-the-art- manufacturing shop floor featuring cutting edge design and engineering efficiency; high tech machines guided by skilled personnel largely trained on the shop floor.  Eastern Millworks is responsible for many stunning wood installations including theaters at Lincoln Center.
• Q Glass – Former instructor Bob Suplicki and owner, Dan Dottorich offered a tour of the shop floor, exposure to new and classic equipment, and quality control demonstrations. Each student had an opportunity to speak with workers there and to use an industrial lathe to build a piece of glassware. 
• NJIT – Organized a discussion and presentation with the executive director of Student Career Services on resume writing, interviewing and networking for manufacturing jobs.  NJIT has provided ongoing access to their career resources.
• Markel Fine Arts – NYC.  Kathy hosted a visit to her gallery and tour of galleries in the Chelsea district.  This was useful to build and understanding of how the art market works.  Importantly, Kathy pointed out how many artists earn their living in related fields (gallery management, curation, etc.) as they pursue their passion.
• Salem Community College – 4 students were able to travel for a day of scientific glass at Salem. Each student was able to work on an individual torch alongside first and second year students at Salem.  Dennis Briening taught making glass coils, tube offsets, bubbles, bends and a variety of seals.  He was impressed by the skills demonstrated by our students.  Several students are interested in continuing in glass at Salem. All that are able will attend the International Flameworking Conference in March 2017.  Each student is aware of the networking possibilities offered by this conference and will prepare accordingly.

As the program comes to an end, we’re looking at employment opportunities.  Each student will have an up-to-date resume upon completion of the program.  We will provide a resume book to potential employers including United Silica, Precision Engineered Glass,  Eastern Millworks and other companies.  With the help of staff at NJIT, some students will apply to PSEG’s mechanic’s assistant position.  One student is being considered for part time employment in the glassblowing shop of Rutgers University. 

Following the presentation by NJIT, we will conduct job search on the new CareersConnectionNJ website of the NJ Department of Labor for both glass and related manufacturing employment.  According to Ray Vaccari, the head of the manufacturing talent network, there are many openings and companies struggle to fill them.  Finally, a number of positions have been listed on the ASGS employment board that we will explore. 

From the earliest days of the program, we have emphasized the need to be willing to move for work in scientific glass.  At least one of our students will consider moving. All of the students are aware that the vast majority of jobs are obtained through networking and word of mouth.  They will seek information interviews to jumpstart this process post-graduation.  Students created LinkedIn pages as a part of the program.

We continue to work on freelance production opportunities and the students have learned to make the vial pendants that may be commissioned by Aspiring Artists of the Earth and spreader tools used in the biology and life sciences departments of local university labs.

Funding for this session of the Varis Scientific Glass Apprenticeship Training Program was provided by the Agnes Varis Charitable Trust, and by the M & T Bank Foundation.  We are grateful for the support of these two organizations.
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Graduation is scheduled for December 15th at 4pm at GlassRoots.  Graduates will invite friends and family to this festive event.  They will receive their certificates of completion from GlassRoots, and the American Scientific Glassblowers Society via Mike Souza.