NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Governor Josh Shapiro made a stop in Nanticoke Friday to discuss investing in Pennsylvania's workforce.
The governor came to the IBEW Training Center in Nanticoke to discuss and reflect on his administration's new efforts to grow and invest in the state's workforce.
Congressman Bresnahan, Strub address online threats
"I believe the people who show up in a hall like this deserve to be respected and deserve a pathway to success and opportunity in our commonwealth," Governor Shapiro stated.
According to the governor, investments from his administration have created 165 new pre-apprenticeships and registered apprenticeships and trained more than 34,000 apprentices across various industries. The new apprentices are expected to help in Amazon's recent investment in data centers, the state's largest private sector investment in history.
"This is real stuff, it's happening right now in our commonwealth and this IBEW hall is at the epicenter of that work. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of this deal, has invested $10,000,000, not in Amazon, but in workforce development right here in Northeast Pennsylvania. The commonwealth has invested $600,000 in this particular hall of learning to make sure that those apprentices have all they need to be able to learn," Governor Shapiro explained.
The governor also addressed the concerns of residents in those communities, "They still have a say, right? So, they're still involved in this process with us and they've been unbelievably constructive and helpful. So, we're gonna protect our air, protect our water and protect the interest of the local community," Governor Shapiro declared.Governor Shapiro also discussed longtime concerns of union leadership, "Hearing the pain in the voices of union leaders and union members wondering if the jobs were ever going to come back. But I think those letdowns have now turned to optimism about our future. Seeing that we are going to have ten thousand trades people work on just these initial data centers. This creates real economic opportunity in a region that desperately needed it."
John Olejnik is the business manager for Local Union 163, and he says the goals of the union moving forward are to supply electricians for this data center boom and to eventually double in size. "You know, I grew up here. It hasn't been the best. You know, there hasn't been a lot of industry here. The governor has brought opportunity that is going to allow us to stay here, families to stay here and continue to raise their families here."
