Labor & Industry Secretary Visits Philadelphia Apprenticeship Program Preparing Pennsylvanians for Bioscience Careers

​Philadelphia, PA - Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jennifer Berrier visited the Philadelphia-based Wistar Institute today to highlight its pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that provide in-demand skills training for Pennsylvanians interested in bioscience careers.

The Institute is among 26 recent recipients of grants totaling more than $11 million recently announcedOpens In A New Window through Governor Tom Wolf's PA Statewide Movement for Accountability, Readiness, and Training (PAsmart) program for workforce development throughout the commonwealthOpens In A New Window.

"Apprenticeships continue to be an essential contributor to Pennsylvania's economic stability," said Secretary Berrier. "The Wistar Institute has proven to be a vital and effective workforce development partner by providing opportunities for students to become skilled workers in the biosciences field - a very specialized workforce and one they may not have otherwise entered. The commitment of the apprentices to invest in themselves, strengthen their families, the southeast region, and all of Pennsylvania is to be commended."

To fulfill the needs of the growing biosciences industry in southeastern Pennsylvania driven by new cell and gene therapy companies, The Wistar Institute will use its recent award to increase its Biomedical Research Technician Apprenticeship which was created as the commonwealth's first registered, non-traditional Biomedical Research Technician (BRT) program in 2017. The expansion is slated to include recruiting new employers for the group model in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, expanding the Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) pre-apprenticeship and other pre-apprenticeships leading into the BRT Apprenticeship, and investigating the possibility of creating a high school pre-apprenticeship program.

"With our newly awarded PAsmart grant, we are on track to expand our pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in southeastern PA and create additional programs, offered to more students, and including more employers," said Dr. Kristy Shuda McGuire, Wistar Dean of Biomedical Studies. "In this growing Pennsylvania life-science industry, the talent pipeline is vital for cultivating the next generation of leaders in biomedical science. It's an opportunity that can only happen through diverse, inclusive education and training programs in collaboration with government and industry partners in the life-science sector."

The Wistar Institute will also encourage partnering employers to host pre-apprentices in support of the expansion of their Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) pre-apprenticeship program. The BTT program was created in 2000 for Community College of Philadelphia students, becoming a registered pre-apprenticeship program in 2019. Pre-apprenticeship training was recently added to the four-year curriculum at Cheyney University, and has garnered interest from other degree-granting universities in southeastern Pennsylvania, which is progressing Wistar's goal of expanding its education and training programs to underserved and underrepresented populations.

Established in 2016, L&I's Apprenticeship and Training Office (ATO) supports and expands registered apprenticeship programs statewide. As a part of Governor Wolf's PAsmart framework, the office provides outreach, education, and technical support to current and prospective apprenticeship program sponsors and apprentices. The ATO aims to expand the apprenticeship model to non-traditional occupations and ensure apprenticeship opportunities are available to under-represented communities across the commonwealth. The ATO currently supports more than 17,000 active apprentices, nearly 5,000 new apprentices, and more than 1,500 active occupation-specific apprenticeship programs around the commonwealth.

The Wolf Administration has directly invested $28 million in Pennsylvania apprenticeship programs since 2018, focused on increasing academic training in computer sciences, science, technology, engineering, and math education to strengthen Pennsylvania's workforce. The latest round of grant funding supports apprenticeship programs with a specific focus on diverse talent pipelines and underserved populations, non-traditional occupations, and alignment with secondary and post-secondary educational institutions for occupations in agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, IT, education, human services, building trades and more. Governor Wolf's 2022-23 budget proposal includes an additional $7 million investment for apprenticeships.

L&I estimates that, on average, apprentices earn a starting wage of $70,000 per year after graduation and are on track to earn $300,000 more than other workers over their careers. Nearly nine out of 10 apprentices are employed after completing their apprenticeship. For every dollar spent on apprenticeships, employers get an average of $1.47 back in increased productivity.

For more information, you can visit www.dli.pa.gov, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Coverage of today's event is available on PACastOpens In A New Window.

MEDIA CONTACT: Alex Peterson, [email protected]

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