Pennsylvania officials say funding from a state manufacturing workforce program will help train hundreds of people for jobs in the state’s shipbuilding sector.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced a $1.1 million award through the state’s Manufacturing Training-to-Career program to Delaware County Community College in Media, Pennsylvania, which will develop three training programs for welding, shipbuilding, and manufacturing.
A flux-cored arc welding course will provide beginner welders with specialty skills required for shipbuilding, while a shipbuilding training program will offer an introduction to a variety of shipyard positions, including an industry overview, processes, skills, and terminology. A third course will provide experienced welders with 16 hours of preparation for employer qualification tests.
Delaware County Community College will develop the programs in coordination with the Collegiate Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development, which includes Drexel University and five Philadelphia-area community colleges. College officials also worked with regional shipbuilders to identify the areas in highest demand for skilled employees, state officials said.
The three programs are slated to train 315 workers.
“Delaware County Community College and our CCWED partners stand ready to provide the skilled workforce training necessary to meet the needs of the region’s fast-growing maritime industry,” CCWED Chair and Delaware County Community College President Dr. L. Joy Gates Black said in the announcement. “Maritime workers are critically important to the region, and maritime jobs provide good, family-sustaining wages to individuals who receive the prerequisite training.”
