By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

Pennsylvanians who are on the path to completing college degrees and credentials will soon have an additional resource to help them find careers, courtesy of a newly-announced program from the Department of Labor and Industry.

At an event March 8 outside the Lehigh Carbon Community College Technology Center, the department’s first in-person event in over a year, Acting Pennsylvania Labor and Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced the launch of the new “Near Completers” pilot program.

The event was attended by numerous guests including State Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-133rd, and Milou Mackenzie, R-131st, representatives from the office of Congresswoman Susan Wild, D-7th, and state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-134th, Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong, and Northampton Community College President Mark Erickson, among others.

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.

A department news release noted 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 economy that we experienced before this global pandemic is not going to be the economy that we see at the end of this global pandemic,” she said. “The jobs we’ve lost early on, while we’ve regained most, there are some that will unfortunately never come back.”

She explained the new conditions will require workers and the workforce to become more competitive, flexible and adaptive, adding that the present was a “pivotal moment” in workforce development with opportunities to better allocate economic resources.

Regarding the program, Berrier said around 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.”

She noted such 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.

“Near Completers” is anticipated to begin at the end of March.

Additionally, 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.

“The governor plans to invest in workforce, and to support and develop talented workers so that they have careers in high priority occupations, and also have careers that help them earn family sustained wages,” Berrier said.

She added Back to Work PA seeks to invest in rapid reskilling, upskilling and skill transfers for workers, support innovative programs like “Near Completers” to obtain credentials, and back programs to enhance digital literacy and bring areas out of “digital deserts.”

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.

“It just shows that the governor is looking to make smart investments through his Back to Work PA Plan to build a brighter future for Pennsylvania workers and their families,” she said.

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 postsecondary 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 also spoke about the impact of obtaining a higher education degree, noting that a degree or credential 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.”

Furthermore, Nancy Dischinat, executive director of Workforce Board Lehigh Valley, spoke about her organization and introduced a pair of speakers to talk about their experiences in moving through workforce development programs in a similar manner to “Near Completers.”

Dischinat said the Workforce Board is responsible for, and operates, the local workforce system known as PA CareerLink Lehigh Valley, which connects residents to a variety of workforce systems and programs across four satellite locations.

She said 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.

The first person to share their story was Eileen Ortiz of Allentown, who received her Master’s degree in human resources in 2006, then 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 a variety of services and 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.”

Next, Easton resident Dion Andrews shared his story about becoming 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 also voiced his appreciation for CareerLink’s Easton satellite office, which allowed him to commute easily from home, as well as the available services - from communications and technology, to resume writing and interview training.

“They really prepared you to go back out there,” he said.

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

“I’m happy to be a part of that; I’m happy to have the skills and training, as well as the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board exam, and now I can go back to work, provide for my family, and pursue my education on becoming a pharmacist, because that’s the next step for me,” Andrews said about his experiences.

“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.