News Articles
Links to original publications of local news articles about CPWDC, Central PA CareerLink® and workforce and economic development concerns in general are presented here for your convenience.
CPWDC Provides Notice of 2016 Annual Meeting of Members
Notice is hereby given to the Commissioners of the Counties of Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as the Members of the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation (“CPWDC”).
The Annual Meeting of Members of CPWDC will be held at the Union County Government Center in Lewisburg on June 8, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.
Dated: May 23, 2016
Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit announces new YES to the Future program for young adults in Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union Counties
CPWDC Receives $500,000 Sector Partnerships Grant
Support from the PA Department of Labor and Industry will fund Integrated Education and Training programs for dislocated workers
Lewisburg, PA – The Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation (CPWDC) announced today that it has received a $500,000 grant from the PA Department of Labor and Industry that will enhance training services available to job seekers in the region. The award will fund the Pathways to Employment initiative, a new partnership with the North Central and Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Boards and Adult Basic Education Coalitions that will focus on workers who lack basic skills in reading, math and communications that inhibit them from successfully completing occupational classroom training and sustaining employment.
To reach this hard to serve demographic, CPWDC will partner with local training providers and the PA CareerLink® to develop and pilot an Integrated Education and Training (IET) program. The IET approach provides adult education activities concurrently and contextually with workforce training for a specific occupation. By providing basic education skills and job training in parallel with one another, IET allows the two to be mutually reinforcing.
“We are very excited to be piloting this innovative approach to workforce development,” said Erica Mulberger, Executive Director of CPWDC. “The parallel training approach we hope will decrease the time it takes a participant to learn foundational skills and earn an industry recognized credential. The goal is to enable job seekers to quickly find self-sustaining employment while also providing them with the skills they’ll need to retain that employment.”
The Adult Basic Education Coalition will develop contextualized adult basic education curriculum for at least two in-demand occupations in the manufacturing and healthcare sectors. It will also develop an IET curriculum library that can be used by other workforce development agencies throughout the Commonwealth.
The grant will also serve other long-term unemployed and incumbent workers by increasing funding for on-the-job and classroom training. In total, the grant will support 330 individuals receiving training, education, and work preparation activities, including 250 dislocated workers and 80 incumbent workers. Additional information on how to participate in these trainings will be available at the local PA CareerLink® beginning April 2016.
About CPWDC: CPWDC manages six PA CareerLink® facilities in Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties. We partner with regional educational institutions, economic development organizations, non-profits and industry to better understand workforce needs and to identify and implement solutions that strengthen the region’s workforce. CPWDC is a local Workforce Development Board, a group of 23 community leaders representing private industry, community organizations, labor, education, and economic development.
Click here for a PDF version of the press release.
