Microelectronics Boot Camp Paves Way for Manufacturing Jobs
NASHUA, NH—Nashua Community College is running its 11th 10-week microelectronics boot camp, with the goal of helping partner BAE Systems find skilled talent for its open manufacturing jobs. The noncredit career training program teaches technical skills workers use for military defense or missile guidance.
Students learn how to use various components, many of them small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil point. Wire bonding, for example, is similar to sewing, with the students attaching different component parts to make circuits that are used to help with signals for military uses.
The camp was formed in partnership with BAE Systems in 2016, with the first graduating class numbering just four students. The most recent graduating class, the 10th round of graduates, had 16 students.
Each graduate secures a job interview with BAE Systems at the conclusion of the course. Among the 98 graduates of the program, BAE Systems has hired 85 of them. Starting pay for jobs in this field range from $17 to $27 an hour.
The camp runs 10 weeks for 40 hours per week, and costs $5,500. Sessions run year-round, with the latest session having started on Jan. 7.
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