Gov. Baker's Peabody Visit Boosts North Shore Technical Programs

Peabody MA

16 August, 2021

5:26 PM

Description

PEABODY, MA — Gov. Charlie Baker hailed Peabody Veterans Memorial's fiber-optic program as the first certified program of its kind in the country during a visit to the school to award $1.5 million in new Skills Capital Grants to North Shore schools, including Essex Tech, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott, on Monday. "Given where we are as a Commonwealth, where we are as a country, and where we are economically it's more important than ever that we do everything we can to amp up and ramp our educational institutions," Baker said. "Make sure they are working collaboratively with the employer community so we can build skills and give people the credentials they need to be successful in an economy that, I think we can all agree, is going through a bit of a recovery right now, but is certainly going to continue to change. "Some of the changes that are going to take place will absolutely be driven by all the issues associated with the pandemic, which is why having the first fiberoptic certified thing for RCN and a really good thing for Peabody. And hopefully a jumping-off point for a lot of other good programs here in the Commonwealth as well." Peabody Veterans benefited from a $175,000 grant for its culinary arts and electrical and engineering programs last year, and this year was awarded another $125,000 for its medical assistance program. "Our electronics and engineering program was able to grow and improve through one of these grants and we were able to develop a partnership with fiber optics through RCN," Peabody Superintendent Josh Vadala said. "Our students then get internships and potentially jobs after school. Then they can go right into the workforce prepared even better than they were just through the regular program." Essex Tech Superintendent Heidi Riccio said that the school will use its $121,000 grant to expand career and technical education opportunities in the construction trades for students in its day program, after-school program, and adult evening classes. "These funds will allow us to further expand our CTI Initiative through our day, afternoon, and evening programming in the building trades," Riccio said. "Remaining current to industry trends is critical in vocational education and we are truly appreciative to further advance our programs and partnerships." Salem will use its $116,000 grant to modernized its automobile technical program. Swampscott will use its $75,000 to create a manufacturing innovation pathway program at the school. "When you think about innovation, you think about the problems that exist in the world, and the people who have the skills and know how to fix them," Lt. Gov. Polito said. "To continue to be competitive, we need to invest in skills development, and in educational opportunities." Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)