CONCORD – Life-saving devices, the world’s most advanced cars, the coolest video games and the shuttles we launch into space are made in part or full right here in New Hampshire. NHTI, Concord’s Community College offers of the technology needed, including 3-D printers, robotic arms, computer-assisted design and manufacturing software, coordinate measuring machines, precision machine tools and more. Clearly, today’s manufacturing is leaps and bounds from the factory our predecessors worked in.
See it all up close at an Open House on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in celebration of New Hampshire Manufacturing Week and National Manufacturing Day.
Classrooms and labs in Little Hall will be open to the public from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Concord Campus. Special tours for middle and high school groups, as well as youth organizations and employment agencies, can be scheduled from 10 a.m. to Noon by contacting Lynn Sszymanski at 271-6484 x4139 or at lszymanski@ccsnh.edu to register for group tours.
Studies show 83 percent of manufacturers report a lack of highly skilled employees is hurting their business, and they’re having trouble filling career openings. All that despite the fact that New Hampshire’s private-sector manufacturing employees are paid 21 percent more each week than the average for all employees in private industry.
“People with training from community colleges, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, earn significantly more than those with only a high school diploma,” says NHTI President Susan Dunton. “We offer the programs that enable students to take advantage of this opportunity.”
NH’s community colleges team with the NH Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the NH Division of Economic Development each year to coordinate a week of events statewide that raise awareness about the high-tech, high-demand, high-paying industry of advanced manufacturing. Visit www.ampednh.com/news-and-events for a full list of NH Manufacturing Week events.
NHTI, Concord’s Community College, is a fully accredited, public community college serving students, businesses and the community by providing excellent academic, technical and professional education. NHTI offers 65 academic programs to more than 4,500 students. NHTI is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire.
CAPTION ONE: Concord High graduate Morgan McKenzie is studying Robotics and Automation Engineering Technology at NHTI, where she received a Bonnie Newman Scholarship for a full academic year of free tuition.