HARRISBURG – On Wednesday Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship program through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
The program will enable more Pennsylvania employers to develop the specialized training their workers need to close skills gaps in the workplace, while also providing rewarding career pathways for students and adults.
“The expansion of our apprenticeship programs provides Pennsylvania companies and our workforce with a competitive edge,” said Wolf.
“The creation of this new program reinforces our commitment to providing job seekers with hands-on training and helps to create a pipeline of highly-skilled talent for employers.”
DCED is accepting grant proposals from apprenticeship sponsors, such as single employers, employer consortiums, workforce development boards, economic development organizations, labor organization, career tech schools, Pennsylvania community colleges and community organizations.
Eligible apprenticeships must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Apprenticeship and Training Office (ATO).
Grants can be used to complement hourly salaries of in-house instructors for training that supports on-the-job training, costs of books and training materials, contracted professional services directly related to academic competency and other expenses deemed eligible by DCED.
The new apprenticeship program will be funded through money that has been “clawed back” from businesses and organizations that have received state support and failed to meet the state requirements of the contract, whether it be based on job numbers, capital investment figures, or additional requirements outlined in the program guidelines.
Since the ATO office was created in early 2016, 2,610 new apprentices and 81 new registered apprenticeship occupations statewide have been created, bringing the total number of registered programs to 750 and the total number of registered apprentices to 15,201 statewide.
To learn more about the Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Grant Program or to apply for a grant, go to the DCED Web site. To register an apprenticeship program with the ATO, go to the Labor and Industry Web site.