BHCC Degree Program First to Earn Pre-Apprenticeship Designation

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Feb 14, 2012, 04:05 ET

BOSTON, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bunker Hill Community College's Electric Power Utility Technology (EPUT) program is the first associate degree program in Massachusetts to qualify as a pre-apprenticeship by the Commonwealth's Department of Workforce Development and Division of Apprentice Training, President Mary L. Fifield announced today. Students enrolled in the College's program will now receive additional state certification.

For the last nine years, BHCC, NSTAR and Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 369 have jointly sponsored the EPUT Program, which combines classroom work with hands-on-training at NSTAR for students. Apprenticeship programs provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of a selected course of study and ensure safe working conditions, fair wages and proper training.

"Most people don't understand that an apprenticeship is an internship with step increases in pay," said David Wallace, Deputy Director of the Division of Apprentice Training for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Students who complete the pre-apprenticeship program will, after additional work-hours, qualify for an apprenticeship certificate. Since its inception, the program has turned out 59 graduates, 53 of whom are now employees at NSTAR. Thirty-three students are currently enrolled in the BHCC program, which has a graduation rate of 75% and a job placement rate for graduates of 100%.

"This is very good timing. It is an example of all of the partners working in perfect synch," said Les Warren, BHCC's Executive Director of Workforce Development. "Besides additional credentialing for our graduates, this distinction means that the College is taking yet another step in meeting the workforce needs of Boston."

Photos of the signing ceremony are available. Please contact Les Warren at 617-228-2416 or [email protected].

Press Contact:
Colleen Roach, Executive Director of Communications & Marketing
Bunker Hill Community College
250 New Rutherford Avenue; Boston, MA 02129
Phone: (617) 228-2177; Email: [email protected]

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls approximately 13,500 students on two campuses and at four satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 780 international students who come from more than 90 countries and speak 75 different languages.

SOURCE Bunker Hill Community College