Pennsylvanians who are on the path to completing college degrees and credentials will soon have an additional resource to help them find careers.

Acting Pennsylvania Labor and Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced the launch of the new “Near Completers” pilot program at a news conference at the Lehigh Carbon Community College Technology Center.

Berrier said “Near Completers” will support Pennsylvanians who have partially completed their college degrees or credentials and provide them with the necessary skills and training to find careers with family wages.

The program is geared toward job-seekers who have been displaced from employment by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Berrier said the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the workforce and economy from the local to the national level.

The new conditions will require workers and the workforce to become more competitive, flexible and adaptive.

The program

Berrier said about 40 percent of undergraduates do not complete their degrees.

“If you’re one of those individuals, we want you to know that you still have value in those college credits, and we want to make sure we can help build on those college credits so you can easily obtain a credential for a high-priority occupation,” Berrier said. “This is not just going to help those individuals that are close to completing their college careers, but it’s also going to help all of us.”

High-priority occupations include nursing and nursing assistant positions, paramedics, maintenance workers and truck drivers, among others.

The program will also make $7 million in federal funds available statewide through grants, which will connect institutions of higher education with community agencies, workforce development boards and employers, and will operate in rural, suburban and urban parts of Pennsylvania.

Berrier said “Near Completers” ties into Gov. Tom Wolf’s larger Back to Work PA plan, which looks to boost the economy and strategically invest in developing a stronger, more diverse workforce.

Berrier said the plan will look to expand registered apprenticeships, which she called a “proven model to the middle class and family sustaining wages” and expand them to nontraditional career paths like health care, information technology and manufacturing.

Community college impact

Before Berrier announced “Near Completers,” LCCC President Ann Bieber spoke about the impact of community colleges such as LCCC statewide, noting these schools enroll more than a quarter-million students and are the “largest provider of post-secondary education in the commonwealth.

“The academic, workforce and noncredit programs offered by the colleges provide life-changing opportunities for students, and continue to the commonwealth’s economic growth and global competitiveness,” Bieber said.

Bieber said community colleges offer thousands of credit programs and specialize in workforce development and employee training, and said in 2019-20 colleges partnered with over 1,800 local employers statewide to provide $10.1 million in customized training.

She said a higher education degree will not only increase a person’s economic earning power and career advancement, “but degree attainment is also positively correlated with a wide range of personal and societal benefits.”

Nancy Dischinat, executive director of Workforce Board Lehigh Valley, said the Workforce Board operates PA CareerLink Lehigh Valley, which connects residents to a variety of workforce systems and programs across four satellite locations.

The board works in partnerships and provides training opportunities for eligible training providers, partnering with LCCC, NCC and Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, along with 15 other state-approved training providers to offer 163 programs to job-seekers.

“No excuse for not getting retooled and retrained in Pennsylvania,” Dischinat said.

Recipients

Eileen Ortiz of Allentown, who received her Master’s degree in human resources in 2006, decided to stay home and care for her family before now choosing to rejoin the workforce.

Ortiz received services through the Employment Advancement and Retention Network of the state Department of Human Resources and CareerLink, which provided her with training at LCCC to earn her human resource certification.

“This is wonderful because I had all the resources I need in order to be successful here in LCCC,” Ortiz said, “and I look forward to graduating in May and joining the workforce anytime soon.”

Easton resident Dion Andrews became a pharmacy technician through B. Braun’s Central Admixture Pharmacy Services program.

“This is a very exciting moment for me and my family,” Andrews said, wearing a white lab coat stenciled with “CPhT,” for certified pharmacy technician. “I had some experience already as an IV technician, however, I didn’t have the certification that a lot of employers require now.”

Andrews said after leaving his previous job he was put in contact with CareerLink and connected with programs to continue his education and sit for the national exam, which he said would allow him to command a higher salary, work anywhere in the country and be designated a certified pharmacy technician.

He said CareerLink’s Easton satellite office allowed him to commute easily from home, and helped him with resume writing and interview training.

He was then connected to LCCC, where he completed his education, and the CAPS program with B. Braun, where he received 12 weeks of extensive on-the-job training, and where he is now employed.

“There’s opportunity if people want it, and you got to have a dream if you want to make a dream come true,” he stated.