More than 4 million jobs in advanced manufacturing are expected to open in the next 10 years. Due to retirements and a lack of new workers entering the field, industry experts believe 2 million of these jobs will go unfilled. Penn College was awarded $685,297 from the National Science Foundation: Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program to help lessen this growing talent gap in the advanced manufacturing industry. Please click the links below to learn what Penn College is doing to help bolster America’s workforce!

Do you like to build things? Ever wonder where an every day object came from? If so, a career in precision machining may be for you. U.S. manufacturing is the 8th largest economy in the world (source). That’s bigger than everything produced in Russia, India, or Canada! This is happening thanks to the sophisticated automation equipment, robots, and advanced manufacturing equipment currently in use. It takes special training to master this technology, and employers need you as we expect more than 3.5 million job openings in the next 10 years. To learn more about the opportunities for advanced training in precision machining, use the links below.

• Student Symposium – Spend a day at Penn College learning how a product is created from start to finish. Think it, design it, and build it in one day – Planning for Spring 2021
• Hit the ground running with our new, one-year certificate: CNC Machinist.
• Check out our other programs in advanced manufacturing.

You have the opportunity to enroll in a National Science Foundation funded program created by the Pennsylvania College of Technology to help lessen the skills gap in advanced manufacturing. In summer 2021, Penn College will be hosting an “externship” camp for teachers and counselors. You’ll spend a week on our campus, learning to use our advanced equipment, such as CNC mills, lathes, and 3D printers, tour local industry, and help develop ways to talk to your students about careers in advanced manufacturing.

In addition, the program is fully-funded, included your hotel, mileage (within 200 miles), meals, and a $1,000 stipend for attending! An additional $1,000 stipend is available if you implement an advanced manufacturing lesson at your home school!

Interested in the November 2019 presentation used by Dr. Webb at the College and Career Readiness Conference or Penn College Now Partners Meeting?

As a part of the externship experience, participants create and share lesson plans meant to engage high school students and families with the realities of careers in advanced manufacturing. These files are freely available to other educators who wish to adopt them in their own classroom.

Careers in advanced manufacturing are abundant! Penn College is now enrolling for a new, one-year certificate in CNC operations that will prepare you for immediate employment. The new certificate will also allow for an easy transition into our advanced manufacturing programs.

Are you currently working in the field of precision machining, CNC operation, and/or advanced manufacturing? Have you completed or are you currently enrolled in a registered apprenticeship? If so, please take a look at our new A.A.S. in Apprenticeship Technology. This program will award a block of 39 credits to individuals who have completed a registered apprenticeship.

This NSF funded project has been externally evaluated to ensure project activities are inline with the NSF proposal and that adequate progress has been made to lessen the skills gap in advanced manufacturing.

• 2019-2020 Evaluation Report
• 2020-2021 Evaluation Report
• 2021-2022 Evaluation Report

Individuals with questions about the program are encouraged to contact Dr. Brad Webb, Dean, School of Engineering Technologies at bwebb@pct.edu or (570) 320-2400 ext. 4437.