Special to the Journal

Plumbing, electrical, cosmetology and … biotechnology?

Yes, indeed, biotech is coming to Lynn Tech with the addition of a biotechnology course of study starting in the 2024-25 school year.

Biotech will be added to the list of programs that all freshmen will experience in the first half of the school year before deciding on which shop they want to pursue, according to Principal Fred Gallo. Then the first group of students will start in the course in January.

The goal, Gallo said, will be to start with 18 students and add a class of 18 in each of the next three years, bringing the total to 72 when the first group are seniors. There will be a biotech lab created in the Tech annex building.

“Adding biotech as a course of study at Lynn Tech first perfectly with our continuing efforts to position the City as a viable option for the biotech sector,” Mayor Jared C. Nicholson said. “We want to prepare students to succeed in the innovation economy.”

Biotech will be one of 17 shops offered at Lynn Tech, which will have a freshman class of about 340, taken from an applicant pool of more than 600. This year’s incoming class will be 13 percent larger than last year, with plans to continue expanding in order to meet the demand for seats at the vocational school.

After spending at least a week exploring each of the shops in the first semester, freshmen narrow down their choices to three and are placed on one of those three.

“We look at the availability of jobs to make sure a program is viable,” Gallo said. “Lynn is looking to attract biotech companies and there are a lot of biotech jobs in the area.”

The biotech lab will be built in two phases, in space formerly occupied by the IT department at Tech. A teacher has been hired to tech the class and has been involved in the planning and implementation of the new course of study. A second teacher will be added in the future.