Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf today announced new funding for the Greater Johnstown Career & Technology Center (GJCTC), through Pennsylvania’s Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Program (MTTC), to fund phase two of its innovative Advanced Manufacturing and Programming Education (AMPED) program that blends career and technical education in a school setting with internships in a live manufacturing floor business.

“It’s vital for Pennsylvania to invest in training programs like these,” said Gov. Wolf. “The AMPED program combines the classroom setting with valuable, real-world experience working with local manufacturers. This investment will help prepare students to join the workforce and give them the specialized skills they and their future employers need to be successful.”

Through AMPED, GJCTC’s workforce teaching model, students will participate in a hybrid program of 720 hours in length with an imbedded 200-hour internship. The program focuses on advanced manufacturing processes including Computer Numerical Control (CNC) g-code programing, robotic welding programing, and the latest technology advancement in coordinate measuring machine instruction. The program will enroll 16 individuals between two cohorts.

Phase one of the program began in July 2019 in partnership with area companies JWF Industries and Mission Critical Solutions. Three more companies will join the program for Phase two: J&J Truck Bodies, Master Machine, and Rockwood Manufacturing. The MTTC grant award of $200,000 will be used to pay for equipment, instructional support, tuition scholarships and the internships.

“The Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center is excited to have been awarded another grant to continue the AMPED program through the Phase 2 funding,” said GJCTC Supervisor of Adult Education Tricia Rummel. “This program provides students with both practical, hands-on training as well as an internship opportunity with local businesses. It truly is a benefit to students, business, and the community.”

Governor Wolf recently announced an MTTC grant for GJCTC to boost its welding training program at Mission Critical Solutions in Bedford County. The governor’s Manufacturing PA initiative was launched in October 2017, and since then has funded 68 projects and invested more than $15.2 million through the Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant program.

Training-to-Career grants support projects that result in short-term work-readiness, job placement, or the advancement of manufacturing. The Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant program works collaboratively with local manufacturers to identify and teach missing essential skills for entry level applicants seeking manufacturing employment, engage youth or those with barriers to career opportunities in manufacturing, and or advance capacity for local or regional manufacturers.

For more information about the Wolf administration’s commitment to manufacturing, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Rementer, Governor’s Office, ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov, 717-783-1116 Penny Ickes, DCED, dcedpress@pa.gov

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