In an effort to attract more people to jobs in the oil and gas industries, the Community College of Allegheny County has partnered with the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) to provide hands-on training and workforce development programs.
Educational programs will be offered at the new EIC Institute in the Hill District, CCAC president Quintin Bullock said. The Center will open in January. The collaboration between CCAC and the center officially began this week with the signing of a memorandum.
“This is a very unique partnership that will offer a great resource to our community and will provide a forum that will engage scholars, business and higher education leaders in really developing a model that will be embraced,” Bullock said.
The collaboration marks the first time a school has agreed to offer workforce training programs in the new center in the old Connelly Tech building. Seven universities, including Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne and the University of Pittsburgh, are planning to offer educational programs at the center in the future, according to the EIC’s website.
This partnership could be a “national model” of bringing colleges and businesses together, according to Bullock.
“It allows CCAC to have a presence in the EIC to work closely with individuals who want to pursue, in addition to the training that is there, to connect with the college through this avenue,” Bullock said.
CCAC launched a program this semester in partnership with the Pittsburgh Promise and EIC that provides HVAC training.
“CCAC will partner to offer the courses that complement the courses that are in their program curriculum,” Bullock said. “Which could be offering the general education courses, then they’re taking the technical courses through the EIC.”
Hires in core Marcellus Shale industries in Pennsylvania increased 35 percent from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2013, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. From the second quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2013, the number of new hires statewide rose 8.7 percent.
Bullock said the collaboration will support the gas, energy and technology industries in the region.
“Many communities like to be able to approach or go to a place that’s close to home,” Bullock said. “This positions access to higher education and workforce training in a neighborhood that will gain some great benefits to have that resource available.”
