Top E-team grads assured GE jobs

LYNN – It pays to graduate at the top of your class.The three highest-achieving graduates from the 11th annual class of the E-Team Machinists Job Training Program have been assured jobs at GE in Lynn, according to Tony Dunn, the program director.U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, a Salem Democrat and member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, addressed the graduates during a June ceremony at the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute annex. Mayor Edward Clancy Jr. also praised the graduates during the ceremony, congratulating them on their status as newly-minted machinists and for achieving a high level of excellence.The top-three graduates, in order from first to third, were: Shawna Bickford of Everett, Phillip Ragusa of Lynn, and Jennifer Fader of Lynn.The other graduates include: Eugene Anderson of Lynn; Marvin Benjamin of Lynn; John Breault of Lynn, who was hired by GE before the class was completed; William Cahill of Lynn; Paul Cameron of Beverly; Stanley Carter of Lynn; Chalita Coburn of Lynn; Kate Comfort of Peabody; Sean Danahy of Lynn; David Eckmann of Beverly; Ryan Feliz of Lynn; Kim Ford of Lynn; Marc Frazier of Beverly; Leo Hanley of Peabody; Michael Howell of Lynn; Debora Johnson of Lynn; William Kelly of Lynn; John Kelter of Lynn; Pisal Khoun of Lynn; Tim Magner of Lynn; Jacob Mercado of Lynn; Robert Mulvihill of Lynn; Sal Noureddine of Somerville; Carlos Pereira of Salem; Lenroy Thomas of Lynn; Paul Walker of Lynn; and Thomas Whitten of Peabody.The Essex County Community Organization (ECCO), IUE/CWA Local 201, and the Boston Tooling and Machining Association (BTMA) founded the E-Team job-training program more than a decade ago, prompted by a shortage of machinists and a need for such skilled labor at GE and other machine manufacturers.”We needed to find a way to fill the shortage of skilled workers,” said Dunn, who is among the program instructors. “ECCO organized a meeting of 600 Lynn residents back in 1996 to show support for this program and to get the first commitments from the mayor of Lynn, state officials, and employers.”Dunn, the current labor liaison to the North Shore Labor Council, said the council is among the organizational partners who support the state-sponsored local job-training program.Since its inception, the machinist program has provided training to more than 300 Lynn residents, the majority of whom have gone on to obtain good-paying jobs in the manufacturing industry, typically on the North Shore and in metropolitan Boston.Academic classes are held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Lynn where ECCO has its office. The practical machine workshops are held at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute.Tierney, a lead sponsor of legislation for job training funds, especially for so-called green jobs, was given an award designed and built by the students for his longtime support. The congressman recently secured funding for the E-Team and successfully linked its curriculum to college-level programming at North Shore Community College (NSCC), Dunn said.”State officials have often cited the E-Team as the model for job-training programs. The graduates represent inspiring stories about the life-changing training and what it has meant to them and their families,” said Dunn, noting that trainees must complete a rigorous course of 20 hours per week, which translates to three weekday evenings and a full Saturday for 38 weeks. “Most students maintain regular jobs during the course of training. People are aided in job search and hiring practices during the program and most move from low-paying, dead-end jobs to family-sustaining careers.”Employers like GE, which has a major aircraft engine manufacturing facility in Lynn, and smaller North Shore companies, often seek out trained workers like those produced by the E-Team program. “These companies pitch in to help design the curriculum of the program,” said Dunn, explaining that GE has hired many program graduates.”Diversity is a hallmark of the E-Team a