Five years ago I reached an agreement with Lincoln Tech to offer a special program for yeshiva students to be trained and placed in jobs as air conditioning repairmen, electricians and auto repairmen. They have the facility and equipment; they agreed to install a kosher vending machine; and no Shabbat or Yom Tov classes. I met with them many times to set this up, and met with leaders in the frum community as well. I wrote articles and advertised in the various media in English, Yiddish and Hebrew, announcing this program and the date for an informational open house (see Dr. Greene’s article in The Jewish Link from January 29, 2015 titled “The Non-Academic Child: Is It Time to Create Kosher Vo-Tech Schools?”).

I brought goodies from Zadies, and close to 100 people showed up, many with their mothers. There were multiple presentations and a tour of the facility in Mahwah. They came from Monsey, Passaic and Lakewood and asked many questions, which were patiently answered by some of the instructors as well as by the execs. This could have been an entrée into a new source of students for Lincoln Tech and it would have provided a much-needed avenue for young men with no job prospects and barely a high school education to find gainful employment.

Unfortunately after all the excitement, not one person signed up. A missed opportunity.

Dr. Wallace Greene

Fair Lawn