Advanced Manufacturing program at LRCC picking up steam; graduates getting jobs

LACONIA — Several years ago Jacob Parker was stocking shelves at Shaw's supermarket in Gilford alongside Sarah Levasseur, whose husband Rick has owned and operated Levasseur Precision, Inc., a machine shop on Artisan Court in Gilford. When she learned he had trained as a machinist as a high school student in Massachusetts, she steered him to her husband, who not only put him to work and but also enrolled him in the advanced manufacturing program at Lakes Region Community College (LRCC).

In May, Parker will be among the first group to graduate from the program with an Associate in Science degree. "He's learned a few things," Levasseur said with a smile, "and I'll be paying for it when he graduates."

The advanced manufacturing program, consisting of a one-year course leading to a certificate and a two-year course leading to an associate degree, began in September 2013. Last spring 14 graduated with certificates and 27 students are currently enrolled in the two-year program.

"Enrollment has exceeded expectations," said Don Brough, manufacturing grant manager for the program, "and our graduates are getting jobs." He said that New Hampshire Ball Bearing, with plants in Laconia and Peterborough, has hired a half-dozen graduates while others have gone to work at Aavid Thermalloy in Laconia, Turbocam International of Exeter, SIG Sauer of Newington and General Electric of Hooksett.

The associate program requires either an internship with a local employers or a "capstone porject", undertaken at the college and overseen by the instructors. Apart from Parker at Levasseur Precision, students are completing internships at Eptam Plastics and Fruedenberg-NOK in Northfield and Aavid Thermalloy.

Employers, Brough said, have been impressed by the students, who even after a year in the program score well on tests administered by the firms at which they apply for either internships or positions. Some 20 manufacturers in the region, including Levasseur, serve on the advisory committee of the advanced manufacturing program, virtually all of whom regularly attend every meeting, Brough said. "We've benefited from their strong support," he said, "and they are very pleased with the program."

Brough said that during the first two years of the program most students were between 35 and 55 years old, but expects that to change significantly this year when students graduate from the machine tool technology programs at the Huot Technical Center at Laconia High School, Kingswood High School and Kennett High School. This spring will be the first time students will be finishing two and three-year programs at the high schools," he said, anticipating a share of the graduates to enroll at LRCC.

Levasseur, who has operated his own business for 24 years, stressed the opportunities in advanced manufacturing. He said that the closure of the mills more than a generation ago, left machinists "a dying trade," shadowed by visions of dark, dreary, dirty workplaces. "This isn't dirty," he said, surveying a shop floor filled with CNC (computerized numerical control) machines. Noting that "the technology changes all the time," Levasseur said that the program at LRCC is training the next generation of machinists.

In a very competitive market for skilled labor," Brough anticipated that the flow of skilled graduates would exert upward pressure on wages in a sector which already offers generous compensation and benefits . He said that representatives of the program are talking to eighth grade students, who as ninth graders in September will be able to take classes at the Huot Technical Center, about the career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. "If we can sustain our numbers, we'll be happy," he said.

Brough said for employers in the manufacturing sectors LRCC is becoming the "the place to call" when they are seeking employees. They are familiar with the program and its requirements, he explained, and know what to expect of its graduates. Although the college may not always be able to meet the demand for employees, he said that "we will always be there when they're looking for smaller numbers of workers."

Parker, who has been working part-time four days a week at Levasseur Precision for the past two years, said that he looking forward to full-time work after he graduates in May. He said that the time he spent in the machine shop in high school and classes at LRCC have prepared him for a career in advanced manufacturing.

CAPTION: Jacob Parker, who will earn his Associate in Science degree after completing the two-year advanced manufacturing program at Lakes Region Community College in May, fashions copper components on a Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machine at Levasseur Precision, Inc, of Gilford where he is completing an internship. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Michael Kitch)