College credits, state licensing available to Huot students through state grants

LACONIA — Students enrolled in the Huot Career and Technical Center receive college credits, and obtain state licensing in a variety of fields. This saves some thousands, thanks to industry-recognized credential grant funds.

Huot Director Dave Warrender told the school board at their meeting on Feb 17, that every year, the state, as well as the Huot, receives federal money through the Carl D. Perkins grant. The state gets about $7 million, passed on to different areas. One area is the 26 career and technical centers statewide, and about 20% goes to the community college system.

The state can also take up to 15% for a reserve pool for the future, and for the past few years, Huot staff have applied for reserve grants, with a specific focus on credentialing.

“The IRCs are huge to us, because they are those value-added things that students can take, go off, and they can get a job. And they can get advanced in a job, and it looks good on college applications,” Warrender said. “We’ve done a really, really good job with this.”

The state Department of Education defines an IRC as “the culminating evidence of a learner’s proficiency in competencies that equip them for a productive career in a specific industry domain.”

The tech center is on the campus of Laconia High School, with a variety of districts throughout the region sending students.

Plumbing and Heating Instructor Michael Schofield said for his program, the grants have allowed them to get new technology, which revamped about a quarter of the shop with new tools.

Grants also allow the program to administer state licensing for second-year students.

Students have the opportunity to take part in a 60- 80-hour curriculum in New Hampshire gas fitters licensing, and after that, students can receive their state testing in the career lab.

“They get all their state schoolwork out of the way,” Schofield said. “They just have to get some on-the-job training when they get out of school with it. We’re the only school in New Hampshire that does it with high school students.”

Schofield said there is a great relationship with Manchester Community College, which he noted has a great heating and cooling program, and when they do the gas piping installer training, it directly correlates with Tier 2 and 3 training. These tiers are for installation and service technician licensing, the highest levels of gas licensing in the state.

Currently, there are six Huot students attending Manchester Community College on Wednesday nights to take college-level classes. Another three or four students will take the classes in the summer, as athletics don't allow for it during the school year.

Not only are these students receiving college credit, they will also take their state licensing in May.

“They do a great thing with the early college stuff now,” Schofield said. “If they sign up before they graduate, they get it for free. So, they’re getting about $6,000 worth of licensing, training and stuff, for nothing.”

Engineering and Manufacturing Instructor Ken Martin has taken the lead in grant applications, and Warrender said every application they have put in have been approved. The grants have ranged from $30,000 to $75,000.

“So, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and things coming to the Huot Center that we would not otherwise have been able to do,” Warrender said.

When dealing with applications, Warrender said they are looking for things like employer matches, and work-based learning. The state looks at whether programs align with state competencies, and that there is market currency to help students be employable. The state also looks at whether training is portable, which means their skill can be used in New Hampshire and beyond, as well as the ability to be promoted as experience grows.

Warrender said employer matches are often in terms of time rather than money, and can include companies coming to the school, or students getting internships.

“This is a little bit of the story of how we got the money to do these things,” he said. “We hope to continue on. Obviously, you never know, from year to year, what’s going to happen. They have not received the IRCs just yet for this year, but we’re hoping that they will do so.”

Martin said over the past five years, the center has received six grants: two for engineering, as well as for plumbing and heating, automotive, health services and digital media.

The IRCs should be tied to a national organization, he said. Martin referred to Ward 1 school board member Zachary Dea’s daughter Abbie, who just received her SOLIDWORKS certification, for mechanical design, which is considered an IRC.

“That is actually worldwide, not just a national thing,” Martin said.

During the meeting, Martin turned to third-year Huot student Paul Ganchi, who told the board about his time in the engineering program. During his first year, he spent time working on achieving a robotics certification. Last year, he received two different 3D printing certifications, as well as a SOLIDWORKS certification. This year, he spent time receiving his industrial laser engraving safety certification.

The school board recognized the importance of the work put in to receive these grants.

“Very impressive,” said Karin Salome, Ward 3. “Our students here in Laconia are very, very fortunate.”