As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause employment uncertainty, Bucks County Community College is aiming to help local job seekers and career changers work toward a stable future.
Recently, college officials and government leaders broke ground outside the school’s Gene & Marlene Epstein Campus, 1304 Veterans Highway, Bristol, where the all-new Center for Advanced Technologies will soon be built.
The $9.9 million, 28,000-square-foot building will house BCCC’s Center for Workforce Development, which has to date graduated over 300 skilled workers into the manufacturing industry.
“It’s a launch pad. It is the place where Bucks County Community College, in collaboration with the County of Bucks and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will forge and develop the next phase in the expansion of our Workforce Development programs,” said college president Dr. Stephanie Shanblatt.
Featured inside the Center for Advanced Technologies will be a number of spacious labs for metalwork, industrial maintenance, robotics and welding. There will also be classrooms and computer labs, where classes such as SolidWorks, Project Management, Microsoft Office Specialist and QuickBooks will be taught. According to Shanblatt, the Center will be flexible and have room to adapt to students’ ever-evolving educational needs.
“We know that jobs of the future are currently unknowable, but the facility will be able to accommodate new things as they come along. There will be something for everyone here,” she said. “This new center will allow us to continue to grow and expand our workforce programs and continue to train future generations of skilled workers, the kind of qualified and dedicated workers that Bucks County’s businesses need to stay vital in the 21st century.”
To date, BCCC’s Workforce Development programming, including its signature metalwork pre-apprenticeship training, has been housed in a 2,500-square-foot rented space.
“While that enabled us to prove our concept, we can’t realize our full potential there,” said Shanblatt, who stressed that the Center for Advanced Technologies, designed by DIGSAU Architects in Philadelphia, is not a warehouse or manufacturing facility. “It is a learning space and a part of this campus.”
BCCC’s Workforce Development gives students the opportunity to partner with businesses and receive customized training that’s critically needed in the area. Manufacturing is among the top three industries in Bucks County, and local manufacturers employ more than 28,000 people, or 14 percent, of the workforce. The projected skills gap equates to more than 3,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in Bucks County by 2025, and 2 million nationwide.
“We are igniting a spark that will inspire people from all walks of life to pursue the education they need to have a career that is enriching to themselves, to their families and to the broader community,” said Shanblatt.
Joining Shanblatt at the ceremonial groundbreaking was Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, chair of the Bucks County Commissioners.
“The Center for Advanced Technologies is a beacon of light in a gray time. It will prepare people for the future, be it next year, 10 years or 20 years. There may be no greater gift we can give someone than training for long-term opportunities,” said Marseglia. “It is heartwarming to watch a project that is just beginning but will result in hundreds, really thousands, of ‘thank yous’ in the future.”
Also present was David Breidinger, chair of the college’s board of trustees.
“Our groundbreaking is only the beginning of Bucks County Community College’s commitment to provide outstanding career training for our county,” he said. “The past year has taught us that traditional classrooms are changing. Students are now taking different paths to succeed, and the new Center for Advanced Technologies is another pathway to success.”
In order to make training available and affordable, the Bucks County Community College Foundation has established a dedicated Workforce Development fund, which invites individuals, alumni and corporate partners to demonstrate their support.
“With this fund, the Center for Workforce Development plans to provide scholarships to students who desire a career in manufacturing but cannot afford the tuition,” said Christina McGinley, the foundation’s executive director. “It will also help the Center to purchase necessary equipment to expand current programs, start new ones, and ensure that student skills meet industry demands.”
For more information on making a charitable investment, visit bucks.edu/discover/foundation/donate/cat or contact the BCCC Foundation at foundation@bucks.edu or 215-968-8416. To learn more about Bucks County Community College’s Center for Workforce Development, visit bucks.edu/wfd.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
