Develop a skilled workforce that meets the needs of Pennsylvania's business community

Pennsylvania faces a changing economy that's placing new demands on our workers and businesses. Employers are hiring, but the job-skills gap in today's workforce too often leads to a shortage of qualified job candidates. At the same time, too many workers are employed in low-wage jobs and lack the training they need to compete for in-demand careers. To meet these common challenges, state government, the education sector, labor, and industry must all work together to close the skills gap and build a well-trained workforce.

With the commonwealth on a comeback, Governor Wolf is committed to building the strongest workforce in the nation. He approved more than $11 million in funding through the new Manufacturing PA initiative for 78 new training programs across Pennsylvania to give more than 1,470 job-seekers the skills they need to secure a stable, high-paying job in manufacturing. Governor Wolf announced the approval of funding for the Iron Worker Apprenticeship Workforce Expansion Program to provide opportunities for young men and women to begin careers as ironworkers. As part of his PAsmart initiative, Governor Wolf provided a $6 million increase, $3 million annually, to the Department of Labor & Industry’s successful Industry Partnerships program, which connects similar businesses with educational and economic development partners to provide job training. In early 2019, the governor created the Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center to address the skills gap and worker shortages by expanding collaboration between government and businesses.

The chart below shows the number of trainings provided to Pennsylvania workers through the following state-supported programs: Local Government Training Partnership (LGTP), Partnership for Regional Economic Performance (PREP), and the Workforce & Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA).

The chart below shows the overall percentage change in wages for Industry Partnerships participants one year after they completed training.