PLEASANT GAP — The Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) has been awarded a $250,000 PA Department of Labor & Industry “Schools-to-Work” grant.

Grant funds will be utilized to develop a pre-apprenticeship in automation and instrumentation linked to a registered apprenticeship in Mechatronics. Both the pre and registered apprenticeships will be operated by CPI.

High school students in Centre and neighboring counties will have the opportunity to enroll in an Automation and Instrumentation pre-apprenticeship at no cost.

The investment is part of a $4.1 million investment in “Schools-to-Work” and Pre-Apprenticeships pathways across Pennsylvania.

Schools-to-Work, established in January 2023 by the Shapiro Administration, supports 52 programs statewide and 2,295 students with personalized training, instruction and apprenticeship opportunities.

“Schools-to-Work is about making sure students don’t just graduate with a diploma, but with a direction,” L&I Secretary Nancy A. Walker said. “Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, we have made workforce development for young Pennsylvanians a priority because we know early exposure to real careers changes lives.”

“This Schools-to-Work grant provides CPI with a tremendous boost in providing students access to state�’of�’the�’art, hands�’on learning while allowing them to earn wages as they train and seamlessly transition through apprenticeship into high�’demand careers with major central Pennsylvania employers,” CPI Vice President of Post-Secondary Education Todd Taylor said. “CPI has fully embraced apprenticeships as an effective way to address the workforce skills shortage facing our employer partners.”