NHTI to Offer 10 New Certificate Programs in Information Technology

When fall classes start Monday in Concord, NHTI students will find 10 new certificate programs in the ever-growing Information Technology field, says Shannon Reid, communications director for the Community College System of New Hampshire.

The programs are on a fast track, so students can have a certificate in hand over the short-term, she said. They're part of ongoing efforts to help people find skilled, high-paying jobs.

NHTI specialties include robotics and IT programs, she said, due to the number of area businesses looking for graduates with those skills, while Manchester Community College’s offerings include cybersecurity, robotics and mechatronics, and has the system's only Heating, Ventilation and Cooling program.

The other schools also are specialized to reflect the demand jobs in their areas, she said.

Reid said the community colleges are trying to help students seeking affordable education, and the focus has been on two groups. One group included students hoping to complete two years at community college and then transfer to a four-year college, saving a substantial sum on tuition, she said. The other group included people seeking an affordable way into the trades.

Enrollment at the community colleges peaked in 2011 at the height of the recession, she said. Over the 10 years from 2000 to 2010, enrollment almost doubled.

"That makes sense," she said, "when you realize people were out of work and looking at going back to college and acquiring new skills." But now, the state's unemployment rate has sunk to about 2.9 percent, she said. With more people back on the job, community college enrollments have dropped off over the past couple of years. She estimates they're down four or five percent since the 2011 peak.

Nonetheless, she said, the community college enrollments remain at historic highs, she said.

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