Steamfitters and others to receive grant funding from Shapiro Administration to expand apprenticeship opportunities
Steamfitters Local Union No 449 in Harmony, along with four other registered pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, are set to receive grant awards totaling more than $397,000 from the state according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
The four grants are: $115,169 going to Apprentice Training for the Electrical Industry in Philadelphia, $65,000 to EVOLVE in Dauphin County, $62,255 to I-LEAD, Inc. in Berks County, $65,000 to the Pittsburgh A. Philip Randolph Institute Education Fund in Allegheny County and $90,000 to Steamfitters Local Union No 449.
According to Ken Broadbent, business manager at Steamfitters, the grant money will be used toward marketing to help bring in more apprentices and share information regarding what being a Steamfitter is all about.
“It’s a diversity grant to help us attract more diversity into the Steamfitters apprenticeship,” Broadbent said. “We have a recruiter that goes to various high schools and job fairs and tries to recruit more diversity and encourage people to apply for the Steamfitter apprenticeship.”
The awarded programs will receive grant funding through March 2025 according to the Department of Labor & Industry.
The 2023-24 budget includes $23.8 million to build partnerships between career and technical education, as well as in-demand and nontraditional industries that are in critical need of workers — including the building and construction trades.
“Registered apprenticeship programs give Pennsylvanians the opportunity to earn competitive wages and advance their careers,” Department of Labor & Industry secretary Nancy A. Walker said. “To deliver on this promise, L&I is committed to investing in apprenticeship programs that are finding innovative ways to ensure our workforce is representative of the community it serves.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, apprentices earn on average a starting wage of $77,000 per year after graduation and are on track to earn $300,000 more over their careers compared to workers who do not graduate from an apprenticeship program.
