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City and district explore pipeline to place graduates into in‑house trades; facilities department offers pilot opportunities
Summary
City officials and district facilities staff proposed a labor‑management committee and pilot placements to create a pipeline for vocational graduates into city trades, citing in‑house capacity and pay rates for skilled trades positions.
Springfield municipal and school facilities officials told the School Committee they are exploring a labor‑management partnership to recruit Putnam and Scitech graduates into city trades and to pilot student work alongside in‑house trades staff.
“Tradesman jobs pay $80,000 a year, $40 an hour,” Patrick Roche, chief financial officer for Springfield Public Schools, said while describing compensation and benefits for city trades positions. Roche and John Carrigan, who oversees the district’s facilities work, said they will form a labor‑management committee with union representatives and Putnam staff to design pilots that place students with in‑house trades personnel during summers and after graduation.
Why it matters: The proposal aims to convert vocational credentials into local career opportunities, keep skilled workers in the city’s labor force and supply municipal maintenance and construction staffing needs. Carrigan said the district runs an in‑house facilities team of approximately 40 tradespeople and manages repair and maintenance across nearly 100 school buildings and city structures.
Next steps: Officials said they will identify initial pilot shops, secure union agreements and begin summer placements if terms can be agreed. The committee expressed support and asked administration to bring an implementation timeline and a memorandum of understanding for the proposed labor‑management committee.
Ending: School and city officials said they would start planning immediately, pilot one or two shops in summer and return with a proposed timeline and an MOA for committee review.
