The wire and bonding technique of microelectronics, shown here, is a critical ability needed by BAE Systems, which is why the company is partnering with Nashua Community College to offer a boot camp on the skill starting Feb. 18. (Courtesy photo)
A Nashua Community College program to train students on the detailed work of microelectronics is a “critical” feeder to employment at BAE Systems as it ramps up contract work for the U.S. military, particularly the F-35 fighter jet.
The work is exact, “like making a stitch with a sewing machine,” only it’s done through a microscope, said Jonathan Mason, workforce development director at Nashua Community College (NCC).
This so-called wire and bonding technique involves attaching gold strands that are one-fifth the width of a human hair, part of a component system that is about the size of a cellphone, according to Butch Locke, strategic operations director at BAE.
The NCC program — which BAE fostered and which Locke described as “critical” to the company’s workforce needs as it anticipates a ramping up of work — is a Microelectronics Boot Camp, starting on Feb. 18.
“Because of the type of work that we do, we need a lot of different skills, mostly in engineering and advanced manufacturing. But a lot of those skills weren’t available in the community, so we had to get creative and the boot camp was the result,” said Locke.
“We are now at the point where BAE’s relationship with the NH Community Colleges and specifically NCC’s Microelectronic Bootcamp is critical for the company to achieve its long-term staffing projections.” Locke added.
Those who successfully complete the program are guaranteed an interview with BAE.
“This program was designed to both meet industry demands, and teach students basic military standards and assembly techniques for radio frequency (RF) and microwave electronic (MW) assemblies,” according to an online brochure for the boot camp.
It is a non-credit, 10-week program of 40 hours per week. The cost is $5,500, which is reimbursed by BAE if the participant is ultimately hired.
Starting with four students in 2016, the NCC boot camp has had 366 participants thus far, with a 96% hire rate, “which is unheard of,” said Mason.
Not all the successful participants go to BAE, but according to Mason the company has hired 53% of the participants.
BAE Systems is a global defense contracting company with a wide scope of services encompassing aircraft, munitions, vehicles, and other items.
Here in the Granite State, BAE employs some 6,500 people at facilities in Manchester, Nashua, Merrimack and Hudson. The company says its NH-based business is a world leader in electronic warfare, providing critical technology to the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies, including EW systems for the F-35 fighter jet and classified programs.
Locke said the microelectronic work is done at the company’s manufacturing hub in South Nashua, where various components for various systems are made and assembled.
In November 2024, in the waning days of the administration of President Joe Biden, the U.S. Commerce Department announced a $35.5 million award to BAE to support the modernization of the company’s Microelectronics Center in Nashua.
“As a result of the modernization, the company will quadruple its production capacity for Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) chips, which are critical components for advanced military aircraft and commercial satellite systems, and replace aging tools with the latest technology and equipment, mitigating the risk of an operational disruption,” the department said in its announcement. “The investment will also cut the company’s modernization timeline in half, bolstering the facility’s ability to serve mission-critical defense programs.”
Mason said that in addition to the hands-on skills of wire and bonding the boot camp helps develop the soft skills of showing up on time, being responsible for the required work.
Over the years, according to Mason, the program has trained a wide range of individuals, some from challenging circumstances. He noted that a past participant, who at the time was homeless, received his certificate, got a good paying job, got married and is now buying a house.
To Locke, the soft skills of responsibility and cooperation are an important part of a potential hire. He said some hires from the 2018-2019 boot camps are now team leaders on his factory floor.
BAE partners with community colleges in New Hampshire to create a variety of career channels toward employment at the company.
In addition to the microelectronics boot camp, other boot camps at Nashua Community College teach soldering, precision manufacturing/machinist, quality inspection and test technician.
BAE also has a relationship with Manchester Community College with its backing of a Information Technology and Cyber Security Program.
