Penn College Receives $200,000 Grant for Gas Industry Training

Published 04.21.2010

News

Pennsylvania College of Technology and its Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center have received grant funding totaling $200,000 for pre-employment training of workers in the natural gas industry and training for specific topics for workers already employed in the industry.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are being provided through the U.S. Department of Labor and administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.

The funding will allow for a continuation of the relationship with the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp. and the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission to continue the pre-employment Fit 4 Natural Gas courses offered through the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center, a partnership established to provide the region and the industry with a central resource for workforce-development and community-education needs related to Marcellus Shale gas.

"Any time that we can leverage resources to provide value-added training to an emerging industry, it is extremely helpful both for the college, as well as the natural gas industry," said Jeffrey F. Lorson, director of MSETC Workforce Training at Penn College. "This fits perfectly into our mission of developing a local workforce for the natural gas industry and utilizes our experience to provide cutting-edge technical training."

The funding will provide additional incumbent-worker training for the natural gas industry to help offset some of its training challenges. Courses and programs that may be offered through the grant include:

  • Fit 4 Natural Gas Pre-employment Program (roustabout training)
  • Petroleum Education Council Basic Orientation/SafeLandUSA
  • First Aid/CPR
  • Commercial Driver Training
  • Well-Control Training
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-Hour Construction
  • OSHA Confined Space Entry
  • OSHA Rough Terrain Forklift Training
  • Defensive Driving
  • Oil and Gas Technical Training
  • Well-Operator Training

For more information about the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center, visit online or call 570-327-4775.

For more information about Penn College, visit on the Web , e-mail or call toll-free 800-367-9222.

For more information about grant-funding opportunities, faculty and staff may contact the Grants and Contracts Office at ext. 7562 or through its Web portal.