La Plume – Keystone College has received a state apprenticeship grant to help create a pipeline of early childhood educators in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The $173,841 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry builds upon a previous grant the college received in 2019 for a pre-apprenticeship program for high school students. The current grant will assist adults in obtaining the education and credentials they need to become certified childcare professionals.
The grant is part of $6.5 million in PAsmart Registered Apprentice Grants awarded recently by the administration of Governor Tom Wolf to bolster workforce development across Pennsylvania. Keystone’s grant is for residents of Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties with the goal of enrolling seven pre-apprentices and 15 apprentices to address a shortage of early childhood education professionals statewide.
Governor Wolf launched PAsmart in 2018 to increase STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and computer science education, registered apprenticeships, and job training opportunities to prepare workers with the skills that growing businesses need.
“This funding will enable us to continue our successful early childhood certification program by providing valuable skills to adults in this important and rewarding profession.”
-Keystone College President Tracy L. Brundage, Ph.D
“Apprenticeship programs are a great way for workers to advance their skills with on-the-job training while earning a paycheck,” said Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Jennifer Berrier. “PAsmart was created as part of a broad strategy to increase job training and strengthen our state’s workforce. Through these competitive grants, Pennsylvania is training and retraining workers and creating a more productive, diverse, and skilled labor force that our growing industries want.”
The $6.5 million in PAsmart Apprenticeship Grants is part of $40 million the governor secured in 2020, which includes $20 million to support apprenticeships, Next Generation Industry Partnerships and career and technical education. PAsmart also provides $20 million to expand science and technology education in schools.
“Keystone College is once again extremely honored to receive this important job training grant from Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry,” said Keystone College President Tracy L. Brundage, Ph.D. “This funding will enable us to continue our successful early childhood certification program by providing valuable skills to adults in this important and rewarding profession. At Keystone, our mission is to make education both rewarding and relevant by providing our students with the abilities and skills they need to succeed in their careers and in their lives.”
Keystone offers more than 40 undergraduate and graduate degree options in liberal arts and science-based programs in business, communications, education, fine arts, natural science, environmental resource management, geology, and social sciences. Located 15 minutes from Scranton, Pa. and two hours from New York City and Philadelphia, Keystone is known for small class sizes and individual attention focused on student success through internships, research, and community involvement
Photo: Keystone officials accept an apprenticeship training grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. From left: Keystone President Tracy L. Brundage, Ph.D.; Vice President of Institutional Advancement Fran Langan, Ed.D; Advancement Specialist Sue Musheno; and Carolyn Crowley, Community Partnership Program Specialist.
