Bucks County Community College’s Center for Workforce Development has been awarded a $250,000 grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry to expand access to its building and construction trades pre-apprenticeship program.
Bucks will be one of 14 recipients of the state’s $3.3 million Schools-to-Work initiative.
The Center for Workforce Development at the College will continue its partnership with the Bucks County Workforce Development Board, the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and the Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 19, which serves as sponsor for Bucks’ building and construction trades pre-apprenticeship program.
The pre-apprenticeship program aims to increase diversity in enrollment and offer math and literacy skills for entry into the trades. Together, Bucks will provide the hands-on experience necessary to prepare graduates for jobs in the trades including basic electricity, plumbing and carpentry. Other fundamental topics included in the training are shop measurement and math, blueprint reading, welding basics, job planning benchwork and layout. Participants will earn industry-recognized credentials in OSHA10 and Forklift Safety. Students will also work one-on-one with a career coach to assist with the next steps whether it is finding an apprenticeship or preparing for union exams.
The first cohort under the Schools-to-Work grant is anticipated to start in the beginning of 2025 with recruiting starting toward the end of 2024. The 10-week free bootcamp will be held Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Center for Advanced Technologies on the Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks in Bristol. The Center is a brand-new, state-of-the-art training facility which offers job seekers access to high-quality career training programs in advanced manufacturing and other programs.
The new facility will provide students with an up-to-the-minute, high-tech learning environment. For information, visit www.bucks.edu/wfd.
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