Philly Leader

Gov. Tom Wolf called Pennsylvania a "manufacturing powerhouse" recently when touring the Philly Shipyard Inc. and Training Academy, where he announced a $1.1 million grant awarded to Delaware County Community College.

The college will train 315 people through a free welding and shipbuilding program.

The free welding and shipbuilding program being funded will be for the building of National Security Multi-Mission Vessels at Philly Shipyard, a recent press release on the governor's office website said. The grant was through the Manufacturing Training and Career Program and is focused on creating training programs for the trainees to teach about welding and shipbuilding for careers at the shipyard, which average a starting pay of $60,000 per year. 

Wolf said that the state of Pennsylvania's resources have helped build and secure the country and, in all, there have been 293 projects amounting to $475 million funded in Philadelphia County during the Wolf Administration.

"I've been committed to ensuring that this industry is strong, skilled and growing since the day I took office, and I have no plans to stop," Wolf said in the release. "These investments, like we see in action at Philly Shipyard today, are a down payment on our successful future."

In the state of Pennsylvania, manufacturing accounts for 10% of the workforce and 11.42% of the economic output, the release said. The economic output increased from $85 billion in 2016 to more than $92 billion in 2021, as Wolf has iterated his priority to build up the industry since he became governor in 2015. He launched the Training-to-Career program in 2017 as well as the Manufacturing PA Initiative, and his initiatives have helped fund 62 projects with over $14.2 million.

Delaware County Community College President Dr. L. Joy Gates Black said that the funding has allowed the college to respond to a need for skilled workers who will help with shipbuilding.

"Delaware County Community College, as part of the Collegiate Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development, a partnership consisting of the regional community colleges and Drexel University, works in close partnership with employers, like Philly Shipyard, to meet the skilled workforce needs of business and industry in Greater Philadelphia," Gates Black said in the release.

Wolf has assisted in the expansion of the Philly Shipyard, as he has recognized that the company is vital in national security measures as well as supply chain flow. Through two Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program projects, the shipyard received $5 million for expansion and improved safety and security measures.

"As we continue to increase our workforce, we have found a number of candidates who wanted to work for the shipyard but just did not have enough experience or certifications to meet the minimum requirements of the positions," Mike Giantomaso, vice president of Human Resources at Philly Shipyard said in the release. "We worked with Delaware County Community College to assist us in getting these candidates the necessary training to complete the certifications and begin working at the yard."