Jacob Gregory of Spofford poses for a portrait in the machining side of the shop at Graphicast Thursday afternoon in Jaffrey. Gregory interned at Graphicast while in high school at Keene High and has now worked on the foundry and machining sides of the company for nine years, this December. At Graphicast Thursday, Gregory noted how important the internship in high was for him in getting the job after high school since he could’ve “gotten passed over for someone with more experience.”
Jacob Gregory of Spofford prepares a CNC machine at Graphicast. Having worked in the foundry for four years and casting for five years, Gregory is able to switch back and forth to where his experience is needed at Graphicast.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford, former high school intern at Graphicast and now nine-year employee in December, compares two parts of medical diagnostic equipment before and after going through the CNC machine.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford prepares a CNC machine at Graphicast in Jaffrey to process a part, that will be used as diagnostic equipment in a medical lab, Thursday afternoon in Jaffrey.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford closes the door on a CNC machine at Graphicast, after preparing it for a piece of medical diagnostic equipment.
President of Graphicast, Val Zanchuk of Concord, poses for a portrait in the foundry at Graphicast Thursday afternoon.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford poses for a portrait in the machining side of the shop at Graphicast Thursday afternoon in Jaffrey. Gregory interned at Graphicast while in high school at Keene High and has now worked on the foundry and machining sides of the company for nine years, this December. At Graphicast Thursday, Gregory noted how important the internship in high was for him in getting the job after high school since he could’ve “gotten passed over for someone with more experience.”
Jacob Gregory of Spofford prepares a CNC machine at Graphicast. Having worked in the foundry for four years and casting for five years, Gregory is able to switch back and forth to where his experience is needed at Graphicast.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford, former high school intern at Graphicast and now nine-year employee in December, compares two parts of medical diagnostic equipment before and after going through the CNC machine.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford prepares a CNC machine at Graphicast in Jaffrey to process a part, that will be used as diagnostic equipment in a medical lab, Thursday afternoon in Jaffrey.
Jacob Gregory of Spofford closes the door on a CNC machine at Graphicast, after preparing it for a piece of medical diagnostic equipment.
President of Graphicast, Val Zanchuk of Concord, poses for a portrait in the foundry at Graphicast Thursday afternoon.
A new state education program that serves to add more opportunities for high school students to gain practical, real world experience in a myriad of fields looks to further enhance an already internship-rich Monadnock Region where employers have been offering up similar pathways long before the program’s inception.
The N.H. Department of Education introduced its Work As Learning program in February to broker internships between students and businesses. The program, which is currently working with close to 200 employers statewide, offers participating students academic credits and pay of $15 an hour, reimbursing businesses up to $7.50 an hour, up to 480 hours.
But in Jaffrey, graphite and metal casting foundry Graphicast began hosting internships about seven years ago and has developed a well-structured program in the time since.
“The first internship we had ... was more of a ‘walk around and look at the operation’ type of internship for a couple hours a day,” said President Val Zanchuk. “We gave the intern some assignments and [asked him] to look up things about casting, and he’d come back the next day and report. Interestingly, he ended up working for us and he’s still here.”
Later interns have taken on computer-aided design projects, 3D design work and learned to operate specialized machinery after lessons on safety. Zanchuk said the program has inspired some students to take their own initiative to learn design tools where there was an absence in receiving training on them in school.
“We’ve brought [students] on as if they were a new employee,” Zanchuk said. “Within a couple of weeks, they’re pretty comfortable and understand how the machines work, they know how to do inspections, how to measure parts and learn all types of practical skills.”
Equally as important to technical skills in the workplace are soft skills, Zanchuk said, with which he feels interns at his company have also received learning opportunities. Student interns work in an environment of diverse ages and had to approach problems, work as a team to answer questions and learn time management, he said.
One benefit of taking an internship is a student may decide they want to follow another career path or take a different role in their workplace of interest, which Zanchuk said he’s seen among Graphicast interns.
Zanchuk said Graphicast’s program was introduced as the company considered its future employment numbers and concern about high school enrollments declining.
“We felt it was important to begin a dialogue and a relationship with the local schools to have the opportunity for students to see what it is we do here,” he said. “Many of them have no concept of what a manufacturing company does [because] they haven’t had the opportunity to see them beforehand.”
The company has a large number of medical equipment-related orders to fulfill currently, and Zanchuk said having interns can help alleviate short-staffed stressors. He noted, though, the job market appears to be improving as Graphicast has filled five open positions over the past two months.
Students have come from ConVal Regional High School and are typically juniors and seniors, and the foundry is beginning to partner with Conant High School for future semesters.
Like the state’s program, Graphicast pays its high school interns for their work at a $16 an hour rate, with students working a couple hours each day after the school day ends, according to Zanchuk. He said the company might be interested in joining the state’s Work As Learning program given the financial incentive but that it has a firm foundation to continue welcoming interns.
“We’ve been working with ConVal, ... so they know who we are, we know the teachers and the extended learning opportunity coordinator, [Kristin Knarr],” Zanchuk said. “But we would certainly take advantage of [the program]; we’re good businesspeople and want to save as much as we can.”
In neighboring Peterborough, manufacturer N.H. Ball Bearings has also hosted paid high school internships with ConVal and Conant seniors prior to the state program as well as college-age internships.
The company produces precision bearings for aerospace, defense, medical and technology industries, according to its website.
“Interns can learn about [computer numerical control] machining, design work and do some basic roles within engineering if they’re going into that trade,” said Human Resources Manager Molly Webster. “They can do tooling, we create tools here and show them what that’s about.”
N.H. Ball Bearings has also offered non-technical roles to students, where they navigate office jobs in the company’s corporate facility as communications and marketing interns, she said.
Webster said the company’s biggest employment gap was among laborers already in the market with an established engineering background, with machine operators most in demand at present. However, interns are encouraged to apply full-time if they continue to work with the company throughout college.
“That has worked out really well for developing engineers, ... and they go back and receive additional education and bring good ideas into our work environment,” Webster said. “We send them back with skills that they can really contribute and help their educational institutions refine the programs to serve the current workforce.”
Webster said she wasn’t familiar with Work As Learning but called the company’s internal program already “historically ... pretty successful” among graduating students not planning to attend college.
She said high school students usually work 10 hours a week and some are released by their school to work as part of their course of study. Webster didn’t discuss any pay rate for interns with regard to other competitors in the region creating “a very limited labor market.”
“We work with each student, the school and what they’re studying to evaluate opportunities we can match up,” Webster said.
The company doesn’t have plans for any interns in the fall 2022 semester but is working with MAXT Makerspace in Peterborough to create a program introducing high school students to trade and manufacturing roles in machining, according to Webster.
The state’s Work As Learning program was precluded by similar programs for late teens and young adults in other New England states, like the Vermont Internship Program, which issues grants to organizations that create internships for students in high schools and regional technical centers. Rhode Island features the PrepareRI Internship Program that matches high school juniors with employers hosting 20-35 hour work weeks of six to eight weeks over the summer.
Like Work As Learning, both states’ programs also reimburse employers to ensure students are paid for their time and effort.
Tim Nail can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or tnail@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @timmnail.
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