What’s the difference between drilling into a plank of oak, pine or cherry wood?

Those in the Conant Middle High School woodworking class are about to find out through hands-on experience, along with the basics of what each kind of wood is used for in the construction trade.

At the same time, in the Conant Middle High School electrical and plumbing unit, a group of students is learning how to wire an electrical switch.

These are the kinds of skills that construction trades instructor Brock Cullen said his students can take into the real world. 

The job market for these skills is only growing, and more employees in the trades are needed to keep up with New Hampshire’s economy. According to the state’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, construction is one of the areas with the largest projected job growth in the next 10 years, with 32,144 jobs expected by the end of 2032, an increase of about 2,158 from 2022 numbers, or about 7.2% growth. Specialty trade contractors is the largest part of that growth, making up about 1,573 new jobs, while construction of buildings makes up about 448 new jobs.

More specifically, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters are occupations that are also expected to grow about 6% in the next 10 years, which is faster than the average for all occupations. Growth for electricians is expected to be 9% from 2020 to 2030.

These are growing industries, with a need for workers, Cullen said.

The district is seeking to solve that problem by expanding its Career and Technical Education programs with a new addition on the middle high school. The addition would be devoted to CTE – including a largely expanded building trades space, with a much larger workshop, dedicated classroom space and an outdoor lab.

The total cost of the proposed project is $22.9 million. but the district anticipates that up to 75% of construction costs to be covered by a state grant from the Department of Education, which has a pool of funds available for CTE improvements and expansions. The district is anticipated to take out $6.4 million in bonds to supply the rest.

Residents will vote on the proposal March 11. School Board members have touted the opportunity to secure 75% funding for the project as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for the district. The state has been funding CTE projects in different sections of the state in a 20-year cycle, and this biennium is Jaffrey-Rindge’s opportunity to access those funds.

Superintendent Reuben Duncan said that because the state approves a two-year budget cycle, grant funding may still be available next year if the CTE addition does not pass at the polls this year. However, he said that if the article fails, the decision on whether to pursue another article next year would likely depend on what kind of support they see from the community. After that, he said, whether the state will continue to fund another cycle of CTE improvements is up in the air.

For recent Conant graduate Josiah Niemela of Rindge, the CTE program was how he decided on his career path. He said when he entered his sophomore year, he didn’t really know what he wanted to do. It was on a whim, and to join a friend, that he decided to take some of the building trades classes. A year later, when there was an offering for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning class, he took that, too. Now, he said, that’s where he wants to make his career.

“Being able to take those classes helped me to decide my career path,” Niemela said. “And it’s one I probably wouldn’t have taken if it weren’t for those classes.”

A lack of space

Right now, the size of the construction trades workshop limits the amount of offerings the school can provide to students who are seeking a career in building trades and the scale of projects that can be completed. 

Cullen said he is the product of a trades course, so he knows its value in propelling a student forward in his or her chosen career.

“The skills I had allowed me to jump forward from a laborer to a carpenter,” Cullen said. “I was able to do things a person who didn’t take that course had to learn.”

Cullen said graduates of the building trades course have gone into fields where they were able to put the skills they learned right away. 

“The classes have large numbers. The space is tight, so we’re limited on how many learners we can put in based on the space. It’s really just an amazing program, I think the space is the limitation for sure,” said Kim Baker, director of school counseling. “It doesn’t allow them to do the types of projects they would like to do because there isn’t space to do some of that. The renovation would allow us to do that.”

At its height, the space hosts 12 electric and plumbing course students who are working alongside and sharing classroom space with 16 middle-school woodworking students.

Between two classes, Cullen has 22 carpentry and masonry students. Even if they were working in pairs, to build a 3-foot by 3-foot  model – already a scaled-down version of what they would be doing in real life – would take up more than 100 square feet just to store the projects. Cullen said that amount of room isn’t feasible when there are also other classes with their own projects.

“One of the huge limitations is that there’s no space to store projects of any space or size,” said Conant Principal David Dustin. “To have a masonry project, like an actual model chimney, requires a lot of space. And we can’t do that with the current program.”

Niemela said he felt that pinch when he was taking classes. He said he would have liked to take a more in-depth course on plumbing and electrical, which both play potential roles in his chosen field, rather than units within a larger class. Niemela, who graduated early this winter, said he’ll be 18 in the spring, and even though he’s no longer a student at Conant, he’ll be voting in favor of the new CTE addition.

“I’m a little biased, but I think a lot more kids would know what they wanted to do if they had a chance to explore it,” Niemela said. “For some kids, the thought is pounded into their heads that college is the only way to get a job. But trades need new workers. Taking classes like these allows them to see what they like, and lets them know there are so many more opportunities outside of college.”

 Current offerings and future plans

Middle school students have the option to take woodworking, a class where they learn the basics of tools and wood types and have the opportunity to create some simple woodworking projects, such as cutting boards. It provides them a basis for more-advanced courses in high school, including a fundamentals class, carpentry and masonry and an electrical and plumbing course.

Cullen said those who complete the full courseload can come away with an OSHA 10 accreditation and the basic skills to pursue a more-thorough course or enter the workforce.

According to student surveys and current enrollment in the building trades program, there is student demand to meet the new, enlarged space.

In a survey conducted in 2023, which had 137 student respondents, about 21.4% of students said they were interested in classes in the construction trades. Currently, Cullen has 17 students in his electrical and plumping course, and 22 enrolled in the carpentry and masonry course.

Cullen said he has only seen interest in the class grow since he started teaching it. His first year, he said he had about 10 to 15 students per block, and now, he has classes at full capacity. And, he said, after completing what offerings are available, there are students hungry for more.

The district has a regional agreement with the Mascenic and ConVal districts to share CTE programs. The home school has the right to the majority of the seats, with a percentage of seats reserved for students from the other districts. Students  living in the Jaffrey-Rindge district, even those who homeschool or attend private or charter school, can access the programs.

If the addition is approved, the additional space will allow for expanded programming, Cullen said, but because the plan does not call for an additional construction trades teacher, Conant would still only be able to offer the same amount of classes per semester. 

Cullen explained that some classes would be offered on a rotating basis, allowing students enrolled in a track to complete the entire track at once, before cycling back to the beginning. This means not every offering would be available every semester or year, but would allow for longer, more in-depth projects anticipated to be completed over longer periods of time.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.