After Goodrow closed his welding business and retired, he saw a classified advertisement that would give him an opportunity to help fill the void of skilled manufacturers.
Goodrow is now an instructor with the welding program at Windsor Locks High School, which through a partnership with Asnuntuck Community College, is giving area students the skills, and college credits, that will make them more attractive to potential employers.
In its second year, the project is being received enthusiastically by teachers, administrators, and the students from Windsor Locks, Granby, East Granby, and Putnam, Mass., who are involved in the program.
As student Sam Caldwell picks up a tractor bracket the class fixed for a school faculty member, he said he appreciates the encouragement he gets from the program's instructors.
Lifting up the face shield on their protective helmets after welding a piece of metal, Matt Twitchell and Jarrett Bevins both said the program will help their job prospects.
Students who were involved with the program last year said the course has substantially improved after a rough transition when it was first introduced in September 2004.
Tim Gleason, a senior from Granby, said the program is much more organized this year and praised Goodrow, who began teaching the program this year.
Frank Gulluni, the director of Asnuntuck's manufacturing technology program, spearheaded the partnership with Windsor Locks High School, as part of Asnuntuck's College Connections program.
The high school students involved in the welding program are earning college credits toward an associate degree at Asnuntuck or Central Connecticut State University, said Jim Goodman, the program coordinator from Asnuntuck.
Gulluni said the program was created after a survey by Asnuntuck officials of over 100 area manufacturers showed a "desperate" need for skilled welders in the region.
He said there is a large chasm in the area's manufacturing industry. Many skilled workers will be retiring over the next decade, since their average age is 55, he said, and there are few agencies training younger workers to fill that void.
"We, as an institution, recognized that young people are the critical difference in determining what the future status of manufacturing is in our region," Gulluni said.
Forty percent of the cost is covered by grants from the Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company and the state Office of Workforce Competitiveness. The rest of the expenses are covered by the school districts involved in the program, Gulluni said.
Brian Keenan, a senior at Granby, said the training he acquired in the program helped him get a job at Joining Technologies in East Granby, where he operates a laser machine.
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