Shapiro Administration Invests in Indiana County Career and Technical Program to Help High School Students Build Skills They Need to Become Entry Level Electrical Workers Upon Graduation

Reinforcing the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to boosting job training opportunities and increasing workforce development, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger today announced a  $200,000 Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career (MTTC) grant award to the Indiana County Technical Center (ICTC) to support a new Electrical Occupations Program that will be available to all students in grades 10 through 12 in Indiana County.

The Electrical Occupations Program was developed in response to local manufacturers who expressed a need for trained employees in areas of electric motor controls, AC frequency drives, motor starter circuits, temperature sensing, process control circuits, and programmable logic controls.

The ICTC will launch the three-year Electrical Occupations Program, which will contain all the competencies required by local manufacturers, during the current school year. ICTC, through existing relationships with local manufacturers and its cooperative education program, will ultimately provide a student pathway to employment upon completion of the program.

“This job training program will help meet local manufacturers’ need for workers with specific electrical skills and is exactly the type of workforce development investment the Shapiro Administration is focused on making,” said Secretary Siger. “The Electrical Occupations Program also gives students looking for a career in manufacturing technology fantastic skills training in high school — allowing them to step seamlessly into a well-paying and rewarding career when they graduate.”

Several regional manufacturers have already signed on to the program, which will also be offered to adult learners at an accelerated rate of instruction to allow the training to be completed in just one year.

The Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant program works collaboratively with educational programs and local manufacturers to identify and teach missing essential skills for entry level applicants seeking manufacturing employment, engage youth or those with barriers to career opportunities in manufacturing, and or advance capacity for local or regional manufacturers.

“The Training-to-Career grant will help the Indiana County Technology Center further its mission to prepare students for their future careers by bridging the gap between industry and education,” said Michael McDermott, Administrative Director of the Indiana County Technology Center. “Students benefit from rigorous, relevant, real-world educational opportunities. The skills students will obtain will prepare them to enter the workforce in high-demand occupations needed in our area.’

Training-to-Career grants support projects that result in short-term work-readiness, job placement, or the advancement of manufacturing. The Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant program works collaboratively with local manufacturers to identify and teach missing essential skills for entry level applicants seeking manufacturing employment, engage youth or those with barriers to career opportunities in manufacturing, and or advance capacity for local or regional manufacturers.

Since taking office, Governor Josh Shapiro has been focused on creating real opportunity for Pennsylvanians, whether that’s through college or the workforce. The 2023-24 bipartisan budget delivers on that promise by investing $23.5 million in workforce training and career and technical programs to prepare more students for skilled careers in the building, construction, and infrastructure industries and $6 million in pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programming so Pennsylvanians can earn-while-they-learn and secure a job that leads to family-sustaining wages.