FITCHBURG---No matter how technologically advanced we become as a nation, with robots and automation rapidly moving into the workplace, the foundation of a strong economy continues to be a skilled and well-trained workforce.

U.S. labor statistics report that the fastest-growing well-paid jobs of the 21st century and beyond will continue to require one or two years training in a number of highly skilled technical career fields.

As college costs continue to increase, and graduates are dealing with staggering school debt, more and more students and their families are looking for a better pathway to job security and financial success.

In fact, an increasing number of high-school graduates are opting to forego college and consider a career in a technical field.

Many of these students are graduates of Monty Tech, who are working in career fields that pay well and offer excellent benefits along with free advanced training, and the possibility of career advancement. Many of these satisfied workers started at their present companies through Monty Tech’s Cooperative Education and Job Placement Program.

Through the program, qualifying upperclassmen have the opportunity to spend their trade weeks earning a paycheck, working in entry-level positions in their respective career fields. The salaries generally range from about $12 and up an hour.

Aside from the obvious benefits to both student and employer, the Coop program gives students invaluable on-the-job training, enhances their skills, and helps them determine if they like the field well enough to go into it full time after graduation.

Libby Williams, 18, and her brother, Nathan, 26, are prime examples of students who are working for a company they love, making great money, and looking forward to moving into management positions someday.

They both work at DECCO Inc., a fabricator and installer of piping systems and process equipment for the bio-pharmaceutical industry. The company’s headquarters and fabrication facility is located right over the line in Brookline, NH. Chelmsford is the site of its training and logistics center.

A 2013 graduate of Monty Tech’s cabinetmaking program, Nate worked in that field for a while, but didn’t think it was for him. He thought he might like to try welding, so he took the two courses offered through Monty Tech’s Continuing Education Program. He liked it, and worked in the field for a few years, before starting at DECCO about a year and a half ago.

He liked it so much, he convinced his sister Libby, 18, to work there. She was a welding/metal fabrication major at Monty Tech and was working in the field through the Coop Program. “I was working at a place, and they let me go because they needed to hire someone full time. That’s when Nate told me to try DECCO. He was there about 7 months before me, and he loved what he was doing and loved the company,” Libby said.

They are both going through the company’s three-year apprentice program, free of charge, attending classes after work at the Chelmsford training center. Both say they like the field very much and “love” working at DECCO. “It’s a great company; it’s like a family. Many of the people here have been at the company for a lot time. It doesn’t feel like a big company. We’re always doing something different and traveling to different locations to work. I’m glad I got into it (welding) when I did. I was 22 and Libby started at 18, right after she graduated. I see a lot of people going into it at a much older age,” Nate said.

He tried college for a while, but it wasn’t for him, he said. “I’m making a lot more money than my friends who went to college and have big tuition loans. Some of them are still trying to figure out what they want to do. I don’t have a lot of bills, and when I get my license, I can easily make six figures doing something I really like,” he explained.

Libby said she’s glad she went into the field right after graduation. “I worked there through COOP, and they hired me full time right after graduation. I love it here, and there is great opportunity for advancement, even without a degree. I want to be a foreman at a job site someday.”

She is one of a few females working at the company, and she encourages the females in the welding program at Monty Tech to stick with the program. “It’s worth it. I’m glad I stayed in it. I just graduated from high school, I’m making great money, there is room for advancement, and I love what I’m doing.”

William Burg, Partner Development Manager for DECCO, is in charge of recruitment for the company. He spends a lot of time attending school career days and visiting trades schools, talking to students about the field and the opportunities it offers.

He’s employed a number of students from Monty Tech, and he said he is very pleased with both their technical skills and work ethic. He explained that the field has changed considerably over the years with the advent of technology and clean, efficient work sites. “The way the field is now, people can make it a career and make a lot of money,” he said.

As with many employers today in the construction and technical fields, it’s a challenge to hire qualified, technically skilled workers. “We’ve seen the trend for about 10 years now, where more and more kids think they have to go to college if they want to make it in today’s job market. That isn’t true. There are a lot of great jobs out there that pay well and only require a year or two of technical training. It’s a challenge for us to convince parents and school counselors that you don’t have to have four years of college and come out with huge debt to be successfully today. We look for people who have a desire to learn and respect for themselves and others. We can always train them. We need to get this message out to parents and students when they are younger,” he said.

Kim Curry, coordinator of the Cooperative Education Program and Job Placement, said over the years hundreds of students have found pathways to successful careers through the program. “Our aim is to provide as many opportunities as possible for our students to be able to enhance their skills and experience real-world work experience so they are better able to make a seamless transition from school to work,” she said.

“The program has been growing steadily as employers look to us to meet some of their critical workforce needs. As a school, we are proud to be able to provide these opportunities to our students and grateful to our community employers for their support of this vital program,” she said.

When school began this year, a total of 65 seniors were enrolled in the program, working at companies located throughout the region and beyond. Already, that number has jumped to 84 and will continue to increase as juniors qualify to go out in February.

Students need to be at least 16, have transportation, and maintain a grade of 75, with no failures, in both trade and academic classes.

In Sterling, Mike Pandiscio, a 1986 graduate of Monty Tech’s cabinetmaking program, has been working at Kitchen Associates/Sterling Surfaces for 32 years, the last three as shop manager. He was in the coop program during his senior year. He currently has two coop students, seniors, working there from the cabinetmaking department. He also has four Monty Tech grads on the payroll.

The students work for Sterling Surfaces, solid surface fabricators, designers and engineers. They mainly do sanding and finishing work and outside installation.

Liam O’Connor of Leominster has been there since February of his junior year. He said he likes working in the field more than he thought he would. “I like working with my hands, and I like what I am doing. I’ve gotten a lot more confident (in my skills) since I started here. Some people warned me I might not like it because the work can be repetitious, but that’s what I like about it. I get better at it, the more I do it,” he explained, adding, he particularly likes going to work sites and installing the units.

“I like it here very much. It’s a great place to work,” he said. And, because of that, he is conflicted about his future. He wants to go on to college, to study law, but he also will miss working at the company. “I’m trying to work it out so I can go to school and still work here.”

Pandiscio said the company tries, whenever possible, to work around students’ college schedule. Rebecca Rouleau, a 2017 graduate, works there and attends Fitchburg State University.

Pandiscio has nothing but praise for Liam. “I’ve never met a more polite young man. He does an amazing job, especially out at the job site. He knows how to conduct himself, how to interact with the customer, get the work done right, and make the customer happy. It isn’t easy to find people who can do that. He’s proven to be an outstanding asset. The skills he has developed in the classroom are excellent. I feel he has the drive, eye, and attention to detail to do this kind of work. It’s very satisfying as a manager to see this,” he said.

He echoed Burg’s comments about the challenges of finding skilled people to work in a highly specialized field. “I’ve been very happy with the students we get from Monty Tech. They have the right technical skills and work ethic to do the job and do it right. It’s easy to adapt their skills to what we do here. I don’t have to change any bad habits,” he said.

There are a lot of opportunities for advancement in the field for students who are willing to put in the time and effort, he said. For example, he pointed out a new, state-of-the-art CNC machine, made in Taiwan, that was being installed in the shop that day. “You don’t need a college degree to operate this machine. We will train you.”

Many students who work at companies through the coop program, are hired full time after graduation. Some even go on to establish their own companies. At Applewood Controls Inc., in Devens, four graduates work there. The company builds and installs custom-designed electrical control systems that are sold worldwide. Owner/president Randy Furmanick graduated from Monty Tech’s electrical program in 1995.

John Griffin, a 2011 graduate of the electrical program, started working there in 2010 through the coop program. He began working as a control-panel assembler and service technician, and in 2015, was promoted to manager of the panel shop, overseeing the building of all panels manufactured there. He still builds panels and performs service work in the field.

Alex Babineau, 2014 graduate, works there as an electrician. Nathan Adams, another electrical program graduate from 1995, works for a sister company, Dependable Control Services in Seabrook, N. H.

Recently, David Thompson, Director of Operations for UG2 in Boston, was at Monty Tech interviewing students for coop positions available at his company.

The company currently employs four Monty Tech graduates and three senior coop students, and they want to hire more. Mrs. Curry had lined up interviews with Mr. Thompson that morning for three HVAC & Property Maintenance students and a couple from Electrical.

Started seven years ago, the company provides comprehensive facility operations and maintenance services for numerous buildings located in and around Boston. “We are in the trenches, doing all the building maintenance work, including painting, carpentry, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and painting,” Mr. Thompson said.

UG2 joins the long list of companies dealing with a critical shortage of skilled workers and an aging workforce. To help offset the problem, the company recently opened a training and innovation lab in Natick, where entry-level employees receive training in a wide-range of technical, as well as, “soft” skills.

“We had to come up with our own plan to grow our workforce,” he said. I started hiring coop students a while ago, and the owners are 100 percent supportive of it. They love it.”

Once a hire has been with the company for a year and a half, they are eligible to enroll in the apprentice program, working, free of charge, toward their license, which takes about five years to complete,” he said. Some of the instruction and training is being conducted by Monty Tech grads, who have been with the company for about six years, he added.

Once they are licensed, employees earn about $45 an hour. The company will also pick up a portion of the cost if employees choose to take college courses. “We have some college grads turning wrenches, making six figures,” he said.