The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Apprenticeship and Training Office (ATO) recently approved a machinist apprenticeship with Herkules USA Corp in Ford City, Penn.
“With our newly approved State Apprenticeship Program, we are happy to be at the same level as our sister companies in Germany, which have had established Machinist Apprenticeship Programs for many years and have been able to perform in-house education,” Jakob Scheiffarth, president of Herkules USA Corp, said. “We are pleased to now be able to train motivated individuals to learn new skills in the trade of machining.”
Westmoreland Community College will provide the related technical instruction for the apprenticeship program.
“Apprenticeships give Pennsylvanians the opportunity to build a rewarding career and earn a good wage,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “Registered apprenticeship programs provide students and workers with the hands-on experience needed for growing careers while strengthening the pipeline of talented workers that businesses need.”
The Wolf administration created the ATO in 2016. Since its creation, the office has registered 138 new sponsors and 193 new apprenticeship programs or occupations. The total number of registered apprentices statewide is now 16,866.
“Labor & Industry is working to double the number of registered apprentices in the state by 2025,” Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said. “Governor Wolf wants to build the strongest workforce in the nation and has proposed additional funding for his PAsmart initiative to further improve access to education, apprenticeships and training programs for students and workers.”