Westover Job Corps Center

Located in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the Westover Job Corps Center offers tuition free training to eligible students in variety of areas including building construction, bricklaying, carpentry, certified nurse assistant, culinary arts, electrical, maintenance, medical administrative assistance, office administration, pharmacy technician, plumbing, and welding.

David Baker

Center Director

Mr. Baker has been working in human services since 1984 when he became a founding member of the first High School Peer Leadership program in the country. Upon graduating, he joined the US Army as a journalist and was honorably discharged in 1987. After returning home, he began working in a direct care position at a detoxification facility, helping those with addictions recover from their illness. He later went on to work with disabled adults and at-risk youth in a variety of inpatient and residential programs.

For the past 18 years, Mr. Baker has devoted his efforts to helping at-risk youth better themselves through Job Corps. Starting in the residential department, he developed advanced programs for students and established innovative programs to support student success. He then went on to manage the Advanced Career Training program and Career and Technical Training program; developing training, curriculum and intervention and retention strategies to support students to be successful. After completing his degree at Columbia College, Mr. Baker became Programs Director, further developing academic, counseling, and career training and readiness programs.

In 2018, as part of a National Demonstration Project for Job Corps, Mr. Baker was instrumental in implementing several new Job Corps pilot initiatives including student centered design, developing a partnership with Microsoft’s Imagine Academy for Job Corps students, and developing a new college-based model for health care trades.

Mr. Baker was determined to help students succeed despite the challenges of 2020. He designed and implemented an entirely new hybrid learning model that allowed for students to access programs both remotely and in person, along with programs to engage and support students in this new environment.

We’re excited to have Mr. Baker on our team!

For more information on Westover Job Corps Center, please visit https://westover.jobcorps.gov/ or contact us!

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Job Corps is a federal program administered by the DOL and operated by companies like us. The Westover Job Corps Center is one of 124 centers in the country. The Job Corps program provides education and training to 16-24-year old youth and young adults. For more information about Job Corps, visit https://www.jobcorps.gov/.