Posted on Nov 5, 2022

MILLBURY – Not everyone is cut out for a 9-to-5, white collar profession, but not everyone can attend vocational school.

Millbury Junior-Senior High School Principal Christopher Lowe recently filled the School Committee in on the pre-apprenticeship training opportunity for Millbury juniors and seniors with the North Atlantic States Carpenters’ Training Center, located in town.

Superintendent Gregory Myers said the center is state of the art “literally right down the road from the high school. They have been very flexible and interested in working with a lot of our kids who might be interested in a career tract in one of the trades.”

The center covers more than carpentry, Myers said, including dry wall, floor coverings and drop ceilings. The center also offers underwater pile driving training for its post- high school students. The Millbury students will not be offered this program.

Lowe said “some people don’t realize it (the center) is here, but we are so fortunate to have it so close.” School administrators began “our journey” last year, to become familiar with what the center has to offer. So while last year was “year zero,” they are considering this current year to be the first.

The schools are dealing with three people primarily: Director Tom Fischer, a former industrial arts educator who, in retirement, is on the board of the carpenters’ union; Rachel Richar, the curriculum and school liaison; and Eric Martinez, who is the school’s liaison for Shop Fridays and the pre-apprentice program, working directly with the students.

While the program caters to juniors and seniors interested in going into carpentry or other fields associated with the Atlantic carpenters’ union, but includes a sophomore” who is truly invested and looking to get into this,” Lowe said, adding that they are planning this while “being cognizant of the graduation requirements they have.”

As the program grows, “our junior Woolies will be able to be exposed to this as well,” with the Shop Friday option for seventh and eighth graders.

The carpenters’ union offers three programs, only two of which the high school will be using in the initial action plan, Lowe said.

Shop Fridays exposes grades 7 to 12 students to a variety of the offerings at the union.

“Along with the technical skills, it is important that they recognize the importance of the soft skills associated with the industry as well,” the principal said. “This is a huge part of what the carpenters’ union promotes and something Eric (Martinez) brings up all the time.”

That goes from the interview process, through recruiting, hiring and other soft skills “and how that is something that is transferable across all disciplines and all areas of employment,” he said. “They give them exposure to what it is like to work for the union, what are the benefits of working for the union and how they can afford them so many opportunities … as they progress through their working career.”

This year, there are four Shop Fridays planned: On Sept. 28, nine of the 12 students signed up (three were sick) did wood framing, including using tools such as a framing gun, chop saw, chalk lining, T-square and measuring tape.

On Oct. 28, the students will do concrete work; the final two Shop Fridays are Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, but the subjects are not set yet.

The second program is the pre-apprenticeship program, catered to juniors and seniors, similar to the internship program the school runs.

Every other Friday, once the pre-apprenticeship program begins, they will be working the full day at the center; on the opposite Friday, they will have content specific courses that work with the skills they are using. One class is Math for the Trades, which will teach students problem-solving solutions they will see have real-life applications.

Down the road, a course will be One Trade Many Careers, an online management system that exposes students to industries under the carpentry umbrella, including basics of safety.

“Often times students will say, ‘how are we ever going to use this in life?’ to me; this is that golden opportunity to see how they can showcase all those important skills they are learning in class and really see how that can take shape through the construction process,” Lowe said. “There is nothing so satisfying as for them to build something taking what they learned in class, apply that as they see the construction take place.

“As an artist and former art teacher, that was the light bulb moment when students saw that skill happen,” he added.

The third program – which is not currently available to the Millbury students – is the careers connections program, an opportunity to get into a four-year apprenticeship program, the step after the pre-apprentice program. That could be an option a few years down the line. At this time, students cannot legally go onto job sites until they are 18, something the carpenters’ union is trying to change, especially for students who graduate high school at 17.

Lowe said they want to get students options early.

“We want all our seventh and eighth graders to stay with us, long term, through their graduation,” Lowe said. “It is important to start to expose them to this early on … so there is something to look forward to as they get to their junior year. Something for the students to say, ‘This is really where my passion lies; I remember my experiences in the seventh and eighth grades; and I want to be able to participate in that.’” School officials made a decision to prioritize this program, so they have worked on getting equipment for the students, and will be looking for business partners and grants to grow the program and acquire things like hard hats, safety goggles, tool belts and hand tools needed.

As part of the pre-apprenticeship program, students will complete the OSHA-10 certification, which focuses on workplace safety. This certification is something the students will need if they pursue this line of work.

Myers said that every year, they see students not get into Blackstone Valley Tech “and now they have to spend their own money on training and they have to find their own way. It is such a missed opportunity. I know Mr. Lowe is committed to filling this gap.

“This is one of a few initiatives we are going to have, to be able to hook these kids and interest them and try to pick up where Valley Tech left off,” the superintendent said. “There is no shortage of high-paying carpentry jobs out there right now and our kiddos deserve that opportunity. If they are genuinely interested, we need to be there for them.”

Myers said there are a “handful of community businesses interested in partnering with us. They believe in this initiative. It’s not free and it’s not cheap, but it’s worth every penny.”

Sen. Michael Moore helped get the carpentry partnership going and got the school a bus, which Lowe called a “Woolie Wagon.”

“I don’t think I could love this any more,” School Committee member Julia Lagerholm said. “I have emojis coming out of me that you can’t see.”

Original article: Union Partnership Leads To Program That Builds On Students’ Interest In Carpentry