Convertech president Larry Taitel recently met with Thomas Eastwick, president of Eastwick College and the HoHoKus Schools (NJ), along with Eastwick’s executive board of the HoHoKus School of Trade to discuss suggestions for an expansion of the school’s existing machining program. The meeting followed Convertech’s recent hiring of two HoHoKus graduates, who will join the company’s team of machinists.

“The applicants who’ve graduated from HoHoKus are far more impressive than our typical candidates,” says Taitel. “We’ve hired the school’s graduates before and have been very pleased with the results. Clearly, the school has a solid program in place.”

Taitel has been leading a charge in New Jersey for better educational opportunities in the area of manufacturing. He proposed various additions to the school’s curriculum, which he believes will enhance the program and better prepare students for the many machining jobs that are available in the state and throughout the country.

“Mr. Taitel has some exciting ideas to improve our curriculum that we will be instituting as quickly as possible,” says Eastwick.  “Employers like Convertech are our most valuable source of knowledge.”

“Manufacturing jobs are plentiful and offer innumerable benefits including higher than average pay, job security, and job satisfaction,” adds Taitel. “However, you can’t enter advanced manufacturing without first beginning in basic manufacturing. It all begins with the basics and lots of hands-on experience. Too few programs exist in our State for potential machinists, and the ones that are in place are in desperate need of additional hours.”

Taitel continues to reach out to NJ State elected officials, educators and industry groups to seek their support in bringing manufacturing curriculum back to New Jersey schools, which he explains is vital to The State of New Jersey, its manufacturers, and our students.