Northeast Metro Tech Earns Skills Capital Grant for STEM Programming

School Committee Chair Deborah Davis and Superintendent David DiBarri are pleased to announce that Northeast Metro Tech received a $106,320 Skills Capital Grant to increase students’ access to STEM occupational opportunities.

Skills Capital Grants, which are administered through Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito’s office, are designed to help high schools, colleges and other educational institutions invest in the most up-to-date training equipment to give their students an advantage when they continue in their chosen field or particular area of study. The awards cover a broad range of fields, from construction and engineering to healthcare and hospitality.

During a ceremony at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School on Jan. 17, Gov. Baker, along with Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy and Secretary of Education James Peyser recognized grant recipients.

Gov. Baker spoke of the competitiveness of the Skills Capital Grants, recognizing the schools that earned grants due to their successful programming and relationships with local employers and businesses.

“I am constantly amazed and impressed with the quality of the students and the quality of the programming that I see when I have a chance to spend some time at these schools,” Gov. Baker said.

Northeast will use the grant allocation to expand opportunities for non-vocational high school students who are interested in drafting and design. To do so, the district will hold an eight-week exploratory program for participants interested in developing the skills needed to further their education and career as design programmers. The course will be conducted on Saturdays and will run for four hours and include demonstrations from iRobot and Shark Ninja. Northeast will also introduce night school classes for people who are unemployed, underemployed, veterans and those who are disabled.

To support the program, Northeast will purchase 30 Precision Work Station 5820 Towers and monitors and 30 Apple iPads. These two platforms will enable participants to create designs through advanced software.

“The demand for skilled workers in software development has continued to rise over the last decade,” Superintendent DiBarri said. “Our goal is to give high school students in our district the same opportunities those at Northeast receive to expand their knowledge and technical skills for post-secondary education and careers. Thank you to the Baker-Polito administration for recognizing this need and allowing us to expand our offerings.” As part of last week’s awards, 31 high schools and educational institutions received nearly $3.3 million in Skills Capital Grants. Since the inception of the Skills Capital Grant Program, the Baker-Polito Administration has awarded more than $52 million to 188 different programs over the past three years.