Lehigh Valley’s unique manufacturing apprenticeship program could be a model to make all of Pennsylvania more competitive for business growth, according to a bipartisan panel of state legislators. 
The Pennsylvania Economic Competitive Caucus held a roundtable discussion at Crayola in Forks Township on May 28 to learn how to expand, and possibly improve, the Industrial Training and Education Consortium (iTEC). The collaborative apprenticeship program was established by a group of Lehigh Valley manufacturers to provide industrial skills training, in partnership with local schools, colleges, universities, and community organizations.
“The iTEC program is a model we're talking about. It's showing us right here in our own backyard what it looks like when employers, educators, and government align around a shared goal, connecting real people to real careers with real wages, and this is the formula that we should be scaling across the Commonwealth,” said state Sen. Lisa Boscola, Co-Chair of the caucus.
Other caucus members who participated in the discussion were Co-Chair Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Sen. Donna Scheuren.
The roundtable included input from Crayola; Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), which provides administrative services to iTEC; iTEC members B. Braun Medical and Heidelberg Materials; Workforce Board Lehigh Valley; Northampton Community College; Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce; Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry; and the German American Chamber of Commerce, which is part of iTEC.
Don Cunningham, President & CEO of LVEDC, said it’s critical for regions to have robust talent strategies that align K-12 education, higher education including community colleges, and career and technical schools with employers to understand the skills they are seeking.
“If you don't, you're going to get passed over,” he said.
Lehigh Valley’s strategies recently helped to land the region’s largest investment ever, a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing campus planned by Eli Lilly and Company in Upper Macungie Township, Cunningham said.
Karianne Gelinas, LVEDC’s Vice President of Talent Strategies, told the senators iTEC helps the Lehigh Valley community understand what manufacturing jobs are, what today’s manufacturing looks like, and how potential employees can prepare for those careers.
“They’re really ones where you need extra training and skills,” Gelinas said.
Morten Rasmussen, Corporate Vice President, Operations HR, B. Braun Medical Inc. and Chair of iTEC, said it takes works to convince companies that are competing for workers that there are benefits in working together to build a worker pool.
Panelists said the state could help collaborative apprenticeship programs such as iTEC by making it easier to get new certifications approved; by streamlining data and record-keeping requirements; and by providing funding that can help to cover costs, which can be a barrier to entry for smaller companies.
They said there’s work to be done spreading the message that apprenticeship programs provide an earn-while-you-learn opportunity to careers, and that current employees can enter a formal apprenticeship track and receive credit for work they’ve already accomplished.
The Economic Competitive Caucus members and roundtable participants toured the Crayola manufacturing operation following the discussion.