Lehigh Valley’s award-winning talent strategies initiatives emphasize the power of apprenticeships.
Employers, educators, and other partners work together to create earn-while-you-learn pathways that lead to careers with meaningful work, opportunities for advancement, and family sustaining wages.
Programs range from the multi-employer Industrial Training and Education Consortium to those by labor unions and pre-apprenticeship programs at school districts.
Apprenticeships play a key role in fueling the manufacturing workforce, which has grown at three times the national rate since 2010.
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) is documenting the stories of apprentices, sharing how they are using apprenticeships to build careers in the growing Lehigh Valley economy.
Here are some of their stories.
Codjo Ahovey, Heidelberg Materials
Already working in manufacturing, Codjo Ahovey was eager to expand his skills and pursue a long-term career in this evolving industry.
"I always want to learn something that I can do with my hands—that’s why I went into the program,” he said.
While accompanying his daughter to a doctor's appointment, Ahovey saw a flyer for the Industrial Maintenance Pre-Apprenticeship Program at Northampton Community College.
He made the call, set up a meeting, and took the first step toward a brighter future, gaining an apprenticeship at Heidelberg Materials, one of the world's largest integrated manufacturers of building materials and solutions.
Kiera Barnhart, B. Braun
When Kiera Barnhart’s grandfather underwent cancer treatment, her mother sent her pictures of the medical devices being used to treat him. Barnhart recognized them right away. “I make that part,” she exclaimed.
As an Industrial Manufacturing Technician apprentice at B. Braun, Barnhart assists in the manufacturing of components for critical medical devices.
She didn’t know that her curiosity for machines would one day connect her to life-saving products used in hospitals around the world.
“It’s so touching. And it also puts a little extra fire behind what I’m doing. We’re picking out defects or sending them through. I keep that in mind when I’m checking everything. It definitely puts everything in perspective,” she said.
Melody Rodriguez-Ventura, IBEW 375
Melody Rodriguez-Ventura always knew she wanted to work with her hands.
“I’ve always been the type to get my hands dirty,” she said. “I liked getting down and doing hard work.”
Initially, she imagined a future in construction but was excited about the possibility of becoming an electrician after learning about the field from her guidance counselor at Dieruff High School in Allentown.
Two days later, she was interviewing with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 375 to become an electrician’s apprentice and in 2025, she was named Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Registered Pre-Apprentice of the Year.
(Photos by Rick Kintzel and LVEDC)