Minuteman to Launch Five New Training Programs for Adults

PHOTO CAPTION: Minuteman Technical Institute’s Class of 2018 at a workshop hosted by Dellaria Salon in Lexington. (Photo Courtesy: Allison Salisbury)

Minuteman to Launch Five New Training Programs for Adults

State Gives Green Light to Advanced Manufacturing, Welding, Culinary Arts, Electrical and Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN)

LEXINGTON – Over the next two years, Minuteman Technical Institute (MTI), a branch of the Minuteman School District, will expand its current post-secondary offerings for underemployed and unemployed adults, including recent high school graduates looking to start a career. Two long-standing programs, Cosmetology and Automotive Technology, have graduated more than sixty adults in the past three years with 100% of the Cosmetology students passing the State Board Exam. MTI will be launching a host of new evening programs which will run over one or two years in length. The first four programs – Culinary Arts, Electrical, Welding, and Advanced Manufacturing – are expected to start this September. The fifth program, Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN), will begin a year later. Students who participate in these programs must be high school graduates or have a GED.

“This is great news for our school and for our region,” said Dr. Edward Bouquillon, Minuteman’s Superintendent. “These new programs will create real opportunities for adults, particularly 'gap year' students, to get training for high-wage, high-demand occupations.”

“Gap year” is a term that typically refers to the period after high school graduation, but before work or college.

To secure State approval for the new programs, Minuteman went through a rigorous application process with the Board of Education. Among other things, the school needed to demonstrate labor market and student demand, meet all State legal standards, address the needs of the region, and increase student access to high-quality education.

Minuteman submitted five applications last December. The State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued formal letters of approval on June 26.

Dr. Bouquillon credited a team of Minuteman staff, led by Director of Special Projects Maryanne Ham and Director of Community Education Allison Salisbury, with planning the programs and preparing the applications for State approval. In designing the programs, Ms. Ham and Ms. Salisbury worked with five Program Advisory Committees consisting of business, industry, labor, and community representatives.

Details on the new programs, including start date, hours, costs, and how to apply are posted on MTI’s webpage: www.MinutemanTI.org. For more information, please call 781-861-7151 or by e-mail at MTI@minuteman.org.

All students will earn a Certificate of Completion, American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED Certification, and an OSHA 10-Hour Safety Certification. In addition, students in the Electrical Program will earn 300 hours towards fulfillment of the 600 required hours of classroom theory and up to 400 hours of work experience towards the Journeyman Electrician License.

Minuteman is an award-winning high school which opened in Lexington in the 1970s. A new high school is currently under construction and scheduled for opening for August 2019.

The State ranks Minuteman as a “Level 1” school based on its students’ performance on the MCAS exam. Level 1 is the highest rank possible. Minuteman was also recognized by the State as a 2017 Massachusetts Commendation School for its academic accomplishments.

Minuteman High School provides students from its ten (10) member towns and surrounding region with a powerful career and technical education coupled with rigorous academics. Through this combination, students gain a competitive advantage in the new economy.

Through the Minuteman Technical Institution and Minuteman Community Education, it also offers a host of additional day, afternoon, and evening programs for adults and school-age students.