This is part of a series highlighting the career and technical education programs offered at Sanford Regional Technical Center.
Walk into the Precision Manufacturing program at Sanford Regional Technical Center and you will find students operating real machines, reading blueprints, and building components from the ground up.
Instructor Joseph Bolduc brings decades of real-world experience to the classroom. Before becoming a teacher, he spent 19 years working as a machinist and toolmaker. He has now been teaching Precision Manufacturing at SRTC for 22 years, and his enthusiasm for the trade comes through in everything he does.
Sanford senior Alex Janousek is a good example of what the program can do for a student. "Machining has been a great opportunity to learn skills that can provide a decent job straight out of high school and provides opportunities to make fun projects that you wouldn't otherwise be able to build, like the engine I built," he says.
Students learn a wide range of hands-on skills, from safety and measurement to operating machines like lathes, mills, saws, and grinders. They also get introduced to computer design software, basic welding, and how to inspect finished parts to make sure they meet exact specifications. Recently, students have had the chance to work with some of the latest equipment in the field, giving them experience that employers are looking for. The program also regularly teams up with other SRTC programs, which mirrors the collaborative nature of real manufacturing workplaces.
By the end of the program, students earn a nationally recognized workplace safety certification. There are also plans to add another manufacturing credential in the coming year, which would give graduates even more to bring to a potential employer.
Precision Manufacturing may be new to most students when they walk in, but many find they have a natural feel for it. Bolduc sees that transformation every year. "It takes creativity, natural curiosity, along with some basic math skills to manufacture anything needed," he says. Bolduc believes the program offers something that is hard to find anywhere else: the chance to develop a skill set that is immediately valuable in the working world.
The need for skilled manufacturing workers is real and growing. Companies like Pratt and Whitney, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and several regional manufacturers are actively looking for people with exactly the skills SRTC students are building. Bolduc hopes the program can help change the way people think about manufacturing and inspire more students to explore it as a career path.
As Bolduc puts it, "What a difference a year makes. Students come into school for a class and leave knowing they have a lifelong career skill with good pay to build on."