Local high school senior students learned about the Androscoggin Mill’s Apprentice Program recently. Taking part were Mt. Abram students Charlie Dexter, Nathan Hewitt, Barry Thorndike II, Danny Visuano and Joshua Hill; Livermore Falls, Dylan Couturier, Dustin Pearson, John Yankura and Sam Warren; Mt. Blue, Derrick Burnham, Paul Harnden and Kyle Gammon; and Jay, Micah Parker, Ryan Marshall, Ben Hebert and Curtis Cloutier.

Verso Paper offers apprentice program

JAY – Senior students from Jay, Livermore Falls, Mt. Blue and Mt. Abram high schools, joined by guidance counselors and science teachers, learned about the Androscoggin Mill’s apprentice program for students interested in working in the pulp and paper industry.

Technical services training manager Glenn Dufour hosted an all-day workshop for more than 25 students recently. Participants learned about paper products and customers for the catalog and magazine industry; toured the wood area and pulp mill; and learned about the paper-making process.

During lunch, the students and guests also heard from Kennebec Valley Community College spokesmen Monty Henderson and David Deas about the pulp and paper technology associate in applied science degree program.

In the spring, Verso’s Androscoggin Mill, through a competitive process, will select up to eight students for its program. The mill will cover tuition and books for the two-year program; offer summer employment (must be 18 years old); and two years of full-time employment after graduation from KVCC.

Mill Manager Dick Jackson said, “This is an exciting opportunity for our young people interested in the paper industry in Maine. The average annual income at our mill is more than 2.5 times the average annual income in Franklin County. We are proud that we have hired 47 new operators over the last two years.”

Graduates from KVCC’s pulp and paper program consider careers at Maine’s paper mills as general operators, engineering assistants, lab personnel or line supervisors. Some students may also be eligible to transfer to the university system to acquire a bachelor of science degree in engineering fields.

For more apprentice program information, contact Dufour at the Androscoggin Mill by phone at 897-1450, or e-mail [email protected].