Gov. Wolf: New Funding Awarded to Grow Manufacturing Apprenticeship Training Program at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport
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Governor Tom Wolf is continuing his unwavering commitment to the commonwealth's workforce with the announcement of $696,220 in new funding for the Pennsylvania College of Technology Penn College Multiple Apprenticeship Pathways (MAP) program.

"Supporting apprenticeship programs is a win for all residents of the commonwealth," said Gov. Wolf. "Pennsylvania College of Technology's programs will provide participants with a paycheck while they receive the training they need to advance their careers. These programs allow participants to learn valuable skills that prepare them for in-demand, good-paying jobs in fields that we all rely on and need."

Through this funding, provided by Pennsylvania's Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant Program, Pennsylvania College of Technology will expand participation in and increase awareness of their pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. The college plans to train a total of 60 Advanced Manufacturing Pre-Apprentices and train at least 160 Advanced Manufacturing Apprentices over three years.

Pre-apprentices will be able to participate in Penn College Career Fairs as well as Industry Day, and apprentices will receive training in Mechatronics, Industrial Manufacturing Technician courses (IMT), Computer Numerical Control (CNC), Plastics Process Technician courses, Robotics, and IntroMECH.

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"In 2018, with the assistance of Department of Community and Economic Development funding, we were able to launch our high school pre-apprenticeship, designed to give students experience with a variety of high-demand, high-skill jobs in advanced manufacturing," said Beth M. Bittenbender, director of operations/special projects for Workforce Development at Penn College. "This new funding allows us to continue delivering that program to the 22 schools and cyber schools across the commonwealth that have already participated, while potentially expanding it to more school districts. The funding also allows us to reduce the cost to employers for our registered apprenticeship programs, helping them meet the massive skills-gap challenges they continue to face."

Pennsylvania College of Technology became an affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University in 1989. Prior to the affiliation, it was known as Williamsport Area Community College (1965-89) and Williamsport Technical Institute (1941-65). Today, Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State, committed to applied technology education. Nearly 4,200 students are enrolled in the bachelor-degree, associate-degree, and certificate majors relating to more than 100 different career fields.

Under Gov. Wolf, 83 pre-apprentice and apprenticeship programs have been supported and more than $12.7 million has been invested through Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant program.

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The program works to increase apprenticeship availability to Pennsylvania employers to assist them with their talent recruitment and development. Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Program funding is provided to eligible applicants for the purpose of reaching the goal of increasing apprenticeship accessibility across the state. Eligible uses of funds include expenses related to instruction that complements on-the-job learning.

For more information about the Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant Program and other economic development programs, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of the agency's news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Gov. Wolf has served for two terms as a leader consistently at work for the people of Pennsylvania. Learn more about how his Priorities for Pennsylvania have fueled the commonwealth's comeback, leaving Pennsylvania in a much better place than when he arrived.

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