Photo: Conor Helfrich
LAWRENCE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works is working to create a free training academy for students interested in welding.
The company has been a fixture of the community since 1948 and wants to give back, while also creating a new generation of workers.
“We’d love to grow this as big as we can over the years,” said Conor Helfrich.
The company received a clean energy workforce training grant, which will cover part of the cost of the academy.
“This was an opportunity for us to create a formal, established academy that is going to have a solidified curriculum,” Helfrich said.
The company plans on working with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and MassHire to give the students a well-rounded experience.
“It’s not just the technical training, it's also the other services that go along with it to make sure that they’re gonna be successful,” Helfrich said.
On top of that, the company wants to help students find their career path, even if it isn’t in welding.
“The goal would be to create a pipeline of labor for us at Helfrich brothers, but given that we’ve been in this area for 75 years, we’re very passionate about providing opportunities to learn, become a tradesman or tradeswoman,” Helfrich said. “If they want to go work somewhere else, we’ll help them find a job elsewhere.”
Helfrich Brothers hopes to have the academy up and running within the next year.
WBZ’s Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.
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