Workforce education boosted in Lakes Region with new campus for school of trades

Gina Millard was in college in Manchester a little over a decade ago, living with her sister in an apartment building owned by her father, Dean Millard.

The heat was on the fritz, and the sisters called for repairs from a local company. When the technician arrived, he was young and unskilled, and didn’t know how to help. An oil tech himself in Massachusetts, with many years of teaching in the trades as well, Dean took the situation as a sign more workforce development was needed in New Hampshire.

Not long after, in 2012, he and John Duff founded the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades in Manchester, dedicating their enterprise to Dean’s father, Robert, who’d recently died and had a long-time vision to found a school. With a new expansion, that same technical education is now available in the Lakes Region.

About the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades

The New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades specializes in hands-on training for heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical jobs, and also offers licensing requirement courses, exam preparation courses, and continuing education seminars for license renewals.

The knowledge comes at a time when there’s a critical shortage of tradespeople.

“Our goal is to create a stronger trades community to get people the knowledge they’re looking for, and make sure they can excel in the trades and keep building up New Hampshire and creating a better community,” said Gina, the office manager for the school.

She said the shortage of workers began during COVID, when many older tradespeople let their licenses lapse, and younger would-be workers coming out of high school had no training and couldn’t get jobs.

“Employers want people with experience,” Gina said. “It’s made it difficult for people to get in the trades.”

The school is helping to ease the situation.

The Manchester campus educates 3,000 students annually, and there are now two additional locations — one in Hampton that opened in 2019 and has an enrollment of roughly 1,000, and the newest site in Moultonborough, which opened this year and currently offers one class to six students.

Demographics are “all over the place,” Gina said, noting many students come straight out of high school; others enroll after some time away from their studies, and many are looking for a second career.

“There’s a mix of men and women — more men than women,” she added. “We’re seeing more and more women come in; every year that number grows. There’s at least one in every class.”

Inspiration for a trade school

Decades ago, Dean taught classes at a Massachusetts trade school at night. Duff was one of his students, and Dean must have taught Duff well, as the two joined forces and ran a heating oil business together for over 30 years.

They also both kept teaching the new workforce.

Over a decade ago, the pair were starting to reach an age where their bodies were punished by their work. As they thought about retirement, they also thought about founding a trade school.

Robert, a well-respected tradesperson himself as well as an oil heat instructor at the Peterson School for over 25 years, also had a vision to educate.

“Opening a school became a topic that came up over and over again,” said Gina.

The Millards and Duff knew many of the students they taught in Massachusetts came from New Hampshire, and that certainly motivated them to work on a school concept in this state.

When Gina couldn’t find a capable tech in Manchester to get her heat operational, that sealed the deal.

Dean, Robert and Duff began to imagine the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades in earnest. By the time it opened in 2012, Robert had died, but his memory still adds passion to the work, and a dedication to his vision appears on the school’s website.

Family focus

The leadership of the school is tight-knit and family-focused.

After graduating from the New Hampshire Institute of Art with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts around the time her father and Duff were seeking a location for the school, Gina was hired to answer the phones.

When the school opened, and there were classes to fill, students with questions, data to process, and companies interested in partnering, she became the office manager.

Duff’s wife, Laurie, also works for the school, as does Gina’s brother, Scott.

How students learn

At the Manchester and Hampton locations, classes are offered in plumbing, electrical, oil heat, gas heat, AC, and refrigeration. For two to three months, students focus on one trade.

Gina said many of the classes are hands-on, and students work with real materials and tools.

Depending on the focus, there are day and evening options. Students who opt for day classes two days a week can complete their work in eight weeks; those who attend two nights a week are enrolled for 15 weeks.

“After that, they have what they need to find a job,” Gina said.

Some focuses — such as oil heat and AC — require an exam and certification, and the school aims to include the certification process in the program. Other focus areas require a license.

For students working toward a career in plumbing, gas or electrical, more coursework and an apprenticeship is required. School staff will help with finding a placement, but there is no official study-to-hire program.

Gina said they hope in 2026, the Moultonborough campus will have a larger faculty and full load of course offerings. To take a tour or for more information, visit nhtradeschool.com or call 603-622-6544.