The Pennsylvania Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant Program recently awarded $297,000 to the Western Central Pennsylvania Electricians’ Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) to expand its Clearfield Training Center.
The JATC offers a tuition-free five-year apprenticeship program to prepare students for a career as an electrician. In recent years, the number of students enrolled has increased, and JATC needs to hire additional part-time instructors.
Funding will be used to hire three additional part-time instructors and add additional classrooms and hands-on labs in the training center.
The addition of labs will remove the hardship for students who must drive as far as two and a half hours each way to use the hands-on lab at the JATC’s facility in Pittsburgh.
“The JATC is committed to addressing the demand for skilled electricians by providing tuition-free, state of the art electrical training through in-seat classroom instruction and on the job training,” Paul Reinert, JATC training director, said. “Apprentices enter our program at various ages and stages in their lives, from young men and women just graduating high school to men and women with families.”
The Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Program increases apprenticeship availability by assisting employers with talent recruitment and development. Funding can be used for expenses related to instruction complementing on-the-job learning.