With a new gift of more than $150,000, Chevron Appalachia funding for Pennsylvania College of Technology scholarships and outreach in energy and manufacturing has surpassed $550,000.
Through its Workforce Development & Continuing Education office, Penn College recently was awarded funding of $150,302 from Chevron; the college has now received a total of $550,987 from Chevron’s Appalachia Partnership Initiative.
The Appalachia Partnership Initiative is designed to address STEM education and workforce training and development in 27 counties in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Since 2014, Chevron has invested more than $2.1 million in the initiative, which also includes Westmoreland County Community College, Pierpont Community & Technical College in West Virginia and Stark State College in Ohio.
According to Shannon M. Munro, vice president for workforce development at Penn College, the latest Chevron funding addresses scholarships for mechatronics engineering technology students, as well as those in short-term training, such as field service technician. The funds also help support the salary of a career counselor.
“Chevron has again shown its support for Penn College programs that graduate and train our future and current workforce,” Munro said. “The company’s commitment to sustaining a successful program like ShaleNET has set an example of the value of private investment in furthering educational opportunities for our students.”
ShaleNET, funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant, creates a pathway with multiple entryways into training for energy and related manufacturing careers. The model features training in entry-level, certificate, associate- and bachelor-degree programs.
With an original investment surpassing $20 million from the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, ShaleNET leveraged 100 percent of the funds to build a sustainable workforce-development training program with the collaboration and in-kind support of industry, educators and the public workforce system. Chevron has supported the program since its inception.
“We’re proud of our investment in regional ShaleNET programs, which help prepare and re-train a highly-skilled workforce for energy and manufacturing industry career opportunities,” said Trip Oliver, manager of policy, government and public affairs for Chevron Appalachia. “Our success is linked to the region’s progress and we are proud to work with these institutions to provide education and training programs that support the region’s citizens and contribute to economic growth.”
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