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November 22, 2009
2007-10-23 - BHCC NSTAR Partnership Gets National Honor
Boston, October 23 – Bunker Hill Community College and NSTAR Electric and Gas Company won national recognition for an innovative degree program in which graduates obtain a degree and employment upon successful completion of a two year program. Established in 2004 by BHCC President Mary L. Fifield and NSTAR President Thomas J. May in conjunction with the Metro Boston Tech Prep Consortium, the Electric Power Utility Technology program prepares participants for jobs as electrical line workers while helping to meet a critical workforce shortage in the region. Two classes of students have graduated with associate degrees and secured jobs at NSTAR.
The Daniel M. Hull and Dale P. Parnell Partnership Excellence Award is given, via a nationwide competition, annually in recognition of outstanding partnerships between education and business. On hand to receive the award and the $2,000 cash prize at a ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky, were Bunker Hill Community College’s Les Warren, Executive Director, Workforce Development; and Sharon Caulfield, Special Programs Coordinator, Tech Prep Program; and Michael Mills of NSTAR.
“This is an exciting partnership because it allows us to promote employment opportunities for graduates in the Electric Power Utility Technology program and it meets a workforce need in the Greater Boston area,” said Mary L. Fifield, President, Bunker Hill Community College. “As a community college part of our mission is to support the region we represent and we do this not only through education, but also through outreach and through business collaborations such as this one with NSTAR.”
The current shortage of line workers is critical, according to NSTAR Chairman and President Thomas J. May, because workers from the baby boom generation are now retiring from the industry. ”Since the proper training for workers in this field is extensive, it makes sense to couple that training with a formal education. Bunker Hill Community College has been a perfect partner in developing this program and helping us to obtain the skilled workers that we need.”
“This award is one of only three given each year by the National Career Pathways Network, a national organization based out of Waco Texas, and as such is a big honor,” Warren said. “Our program won praise from the judges because it represents a career path in which participants earn an academic degree and go on to a guaranteed job. We see it as a model, and a very successful one.”
Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 8,800 students on two campuses and at five satellite locations each semester. Some 1,700 students take classes online. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of BHCC’s students are women. The College also enrolls more than 600 international students who come from more than 95 countries and speak more than 75 different languages.
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