Penn State Wilkes-Barre Partners with Marcellus Shale Education & Training

 

In an effort to better prepare members of the local workforce for job opportunities in the Marcellus Shale Industry, Penn State Wilkes-Barre has partnered with the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center (MSETC) at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.

"As an affiliate of the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center, Penn State Wilkes-Barre has acquired the expanded curriculum and instructional capability needed to train and educate existing employees of gas companies, and those who want to enter the natural gas industry," said Education Program Associate at Penn State Wilkes-Barre's Northern Tier Center, John Swayze. "Students who enroll for Marcellus Shale training programs at Penn State Wilkes-Barre's Northern Tier Center will have access to a wide range of resources offered at MSETC, which addresses a multitude of the training and education needs of the natural gas industry."

"We feel these courses will complement the other successful industry programs offered at Penn State Wilkes-Barre," said Tracy Brundage, assistant vice president for Workforce Development and Economic Development at Pennsylvania College of Technology. "Our Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center (MSETC) has trained in excess of 4,000 students over the past eighteen months and our MSETC Affiliate Program is expanding throughout the region to help meet the demand."

The Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center is a collaboration between Pennsylvania College of Technology and Penn State Extension to provide a wide variety of resources to the community and the oil and gas industry.

That demand, Brundage said, is the demand for trained workers to support the various occupations associated with the development of Pennsylvania's natural gas resources. According to MSETC studies, each well requires a workforce of approximately 420 individuals working across 150 different occupations.

Some of the initial programs available at Penn State Wilkes-Barre through the MSETC include training for Onshore Rigging & Hoisting, SafeLandUSA, Hazard Recognition, Natural Gas Measurement, and Roustabout.

"As the demand for natural gas training programs continues to grow across the Appalachian Basin, Penn College is excited about our opportunity to expand with that demand," Brundage said.

"The MSETC has a strong reputation throughout the Commonwealth in serving the workforce development needs of this quickly expanding industry," said Swayze. "Penn State Wilkes-Barre is proud to have this affiliation."

Penn State Wilkes-Barre Continuing Education is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education, serving more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states, and 80 countries worldwide.

For more information regarding MSETC courses that can be offered at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, visit http://www.msetc.org.