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The history of Porter and Chester Institute began in 1946 with the founding of the Porter School of Engineering Design in Hartford, Connecticut focused on teaching drafting.
In 1973, the Porter School and the Chester Institute for Technical Education of Stratford, Connecticut, became one institution. Subsequently, the name, Porter and Chester Institute, was adopted, and the curricula contents and operational policies of the two institutions were standardized. At the same time, the Porter School, which was located in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, became the Rocky Hill Branch of the Porter and Chester Institute.
In response to the increasing demand for Porter and Chester Institute graduates, the Waterbury Campus was established in 1977. As the need for graduates continued to expand, in reflection of this need, in 1979 a campus was established in Enfield.
In 1976 the Automotive Technology program was added to the curriculum.
In 1986 the Waterbury Campus was expanded and moved to Watertown, and in 1987 the Rocky Hill Branch was also moved to larger quarters in Wethersfield.
All during the 1980’s the school found itself continuously adding more and more computer related technology and skills to the curriculum content of the occupations which it teaches. So, in 1981, in reflection of this deep involvement with computers and in keeping with its philosophy of staying with the latest technologies it teaches, Porter and Chester Institute added a program to teach students how to repair computers.
Almost every year the content of this program has advanced in reflection of the constantly improving technology of computers. Today, the program is entitled Computer and Networking Technology and covers not only repairing computers but also networking them using routers and various interface components. In addition, the program also addresses computer and network security and includes the repair and maintenance of peripherals including scanners and printers.
This involvement with computers has proved to be significant for all concerned. It has provided students with an exciting, new occupational choice, and at the same time, insured Porter and Chester’s leadership position in the occupations it teaches. After all, today, almost every occupation makes use of computers in some way or another.
The prevalence of medical and hospitalization insurance together with the shortage of registered nurses revealed the need for a new, technician level occupation. To meet this demand, in 1992 Porter and Chester Institute added Medical Assisting to the curriculum.
This growing occupation is attractive to people who have an interest in helping others by helping doctors and nurses with both the clinical and administrative aspects of healthcare.
As the application of computers widened, the types of controlling devices used in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration fields have become computerized. Accordingly, in 1992 Porter and Chester Institute added another high demand occupation for students to consider, HVACR technician.
The success of the Enfield campus revealed the need for a school in Western Massachusetts. That being the case, in 1993 Porter and Chester Institute opened its campus in Chicopee, MA.
In August 1995, the stockholders of Porter and Chester Institute purchased the assets of the Connecticut School of Electronics (CSE). CSE was located in New Haven, Connecticut, and was established in 1947. The campus was moved to Branford and renamed Porter and Chester Institute of Branford, and enlarged the scope of its programs and student services so that students living in the New Haven and shore points areas had local access to additional training opportunities.
Dental Assisting is another occupation that people who are interested in helping others find attractive. In 1998 the Institute recognized this need by adding Dental Assisting to the curriculum at Enfield and in 2007 began expanding it to its other locations.
In 2002 it became clear that the electrician occupation had changed significantly and that an important opportunity had emerged for anyone interested in becoming trained in this occupation. In recognition of this trend, in 2003 the Institute added programs in high and low voltage electrical training.
In 2004 the Institute recognized the increasing demand for Porter and Chester graduates in Central and Eastern Massachusetts. Porter and Chester responded to this need by opening its Westborough branch in 2005 and its Canton and Woburn branches in 2010. The Woburn campus closed in October 2017 and the Canton campus closed in 2020.
In response to the incredible demand for nurses, Porter and Chester began offering its Practical Nursing program in 2006.
In 2007 there was a change of ownership in the majority stock holder of the Institute.
In 2013 Porter and Chester purchased the YTI Career School chain in Pennsylvania.
In 2014, the Westborough campus moved to Worcester, MA. and in 2016, the Watertown campus moved to Waterbury, CT
In 2018, the New London, CT branch campus opened. Also, in 2018 the Enfield campus began offering just the Practical Nursing program and the Plumbing program was introduced. In 2019 Porter and Chester Institute of Branford moved to Hamden, CT, becoming Porter and Chester Institute of Hamden.
In 2020 a branch campus was opened in Brockton, MA.
In 2021 the Stratford Main Campus relocated to Bridgeport, CT.
In 2022, Porter and Chester began offering a program in Welding, in Bridgeport May 22 and added an additional classroom site to the New London campus specifically for Welding that opened in July 2023. Also, in 2022, the Rocky Hill campus closed.
In October 2024 the Enfield campus closed.
In December 2024 Porter and Chester was acquired by the College of Court Reporting.
As its history indicates, Porter and Chester is an experienced, competent provider of administrative, technical, and medical expertise. This history also reveals that the Institute stays at the forefront of occupational training by continuously seeking new programs to offer and continuously modernizing the contents of the programs it teaches.
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