Stuff-New Hampshire

F a l l 2 0 1 9 • S T U F F 1 3 C O M P A N Y P R O F I L E S S T U F F M a d e I n N H . c o m The reason for the growing ubiquity of these partnerships, in part, is a now universally recognized need to close the gap between companies who sorely need workers and schools that ready them for the workforce. Jacqueline Guillette, a former superintendent for schools in Claremont, Unity and Cornish, and current education consultant, remembers the days before people started talking about closing the so-called skill's gap and emphasizing the need for more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. Today, STEM training and manufacturing partnerships with schools is the buzzword, Guillette said, but eight years ago, people only started talking about it. As superintendent, she ushered the district into a deal with Whelan Engineering Co. in Charlestown to create one of the first such partnerships, after working closely with the company's CEO on the Governor's Advanced Manufacturing Education Advisory Council starting in 2008. Claremont students have been going to Whelan for an hour of learning five days a week for the past eight years. This year, Charlestown students have asked to join in, Guillette said. "Whelan was probably the first to lean in on this kind of thinking eight years ago," Guillette said. Over the years, as the thinking evolved, the state has made steps to replicate and expand these kinds of partnerships. For example, the Business and Industry Association teamed up with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to create a position called a workforce accelerator, currently held by Sara Colson. And the state Department of Education hired Dean Graziano, the extended learning opportunity coordinator for the Rochester School District, to create the New Hampshire Career Academy. The academy operates as an embedded charter school inside the state's community colleges, providing high schoolers with up to 30 college credits and an Advanced Composite Manufacturing certificate. Companies like Albany/Safran in Rochester and Timberland Shoes in Stratham are partners. "Knowing that New Hampshire is not a top-down state, it's a local control state, really good ideas tend to come from individuals and individual organizations," Guillette said. While planning for programs like these started years ago, Guillette said some are just now coming to fruition. The reason for that is that it often requires a lot of groundwork to get the programs going, such as authorizing district policies, budgeting programs and finding the people to put them together. The Newport School District, for example, created a graduation requirement for substantive career education and experience six years ago. Now, this year's sophomores will be the first cohort to graduate with that program in place, Guillette said. Velcro University Manchester's partnership with Velcro is on the cutting edge of this movement. In its first year, there were about six to seven students participating per semester. But in future years, it should have room for 12 to 14 per semester. Velcro Cos. 95 Sundial Ave, Manchester FOUNDED: 1952 EMPLOYEES: About 750 in New Hampshire SCHOOL CREDIT PROGRAM: Velcro University STUDENTS PER TERM: 12 to 14 students per semester TOTAL STUDENTS EDUCATED: 15 PROGRAM FOCUS: General workforce preparation Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. 594 Elm Street, Milford FOUNDED: 1946 EMPLOYEES: About 750 in New Hampshire SCHOOL CREDIT PROGRAM: Manufacturing Exploration and Externship STUDENTS PER TERM: 12 students per semester PROGRAM FOCUS: Engineering basics and manufacturing experience

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