Penn College apprentice program receives $696,220 grant

The Pennsylvania Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant Program recently provided the Pennsylvania College of Technology with a $696,220 grant for its Penn College Multiple Apprenticeship Pathways program.

The college will use the funding to increase awareness of its pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and expand participation in the programs. In addition, it will train over three years 60 Advanced Manufacturing Pre-Apprentices and at least 160 Advanced Manufacturing Apprentices.

“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,” said Beth M. Bittenbender, Penn College director of operations/special projects for Workforce Development. “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.”

Training will be provided in Computer Numerical Control, IntroMECH, Industrial Manufacturing Technician courses, Mechatronics, Plastics Process Technician courses, and robotics.

Pre-apprentices will have the opportunity to in Penn College Career Fairs and Industry Day.

Pennsylvania College of Technology is an affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University. Nearly 4,200 students are enrolled in the bachelor-degree, associate-degree, and certificate majors related to more than 100 different career fields.

The Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant program has supported 83 pre-apprentice and apprenticeship programs.