Governor Josh Shapiro Awards $85 Million to Build Ten Regional Vocational Apprenticeship Campuses

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Governor Josh Shapiro announced on Monday the allocation of $85 million in state capital development grants to build and equip ten advanced Career and Technical Education (CTE) apprenticeship hubs across Pennsylvania, expanding debt-free vocational training for more than 15,000 high school students and adult career-changers annually.

The capital grants, administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Department of Education, will fund new industrial fabrication labs, commercial electrical training bays, automated robotics workshops, and certified clean energy training centers in Luzerne, Allegheny, Berks, Erie, and Lancaster counties.

Elevating the Skilled Trades as a Top Economic Priority Governor Shapiro emphasized that expanding vocational education is fundamental to Pennsylvania's economic competitiveness as major aerospace, semiconductor, and clean manufacturing facilities expand operations across the Commonwealth.

"For too long, students were told that a four-year college degree was the only path to a successful middle-class life," Governor Shapiro said during an announcement at a career center in Reading. "The skilled trades built Pennsylvania, and they will power our future. These ten modern vocational campuses will provide young Pennsylvanians with the hands-on technical skills to step straight into high-paying, union-wage careers without accumulating a single dollar of student debt."

Private Industry and Union Apprenticeship Partnerships Each of the ten regional campuses has executed formal training partnerships with local building trades unions and private manufacturing employers, guaranteeing that all graduates receiving state industry certifications will have direct access to registered union apprenticeships and starting job placements paying an average of $65,000 annually.

Curriculum pathways include five-axis CNC machining, heavy commercial equipment mechanics, industrial heat pump installation, utility powerline maintenance, and cybersecurity for industrial control systems.

Legislative and business leaders from across the political spectrum commended the bipartisan workforce package, noting that addressing the skilled trades labor shortage is the single most critical factor in attracting corporate manufacturing investments to the state.