‘The sky’s the limit, depending on how hard you work,’ plumbing and heating instructor Mark Kobusky said as he led a tour through classrooms in the Trades Center, building 2 at Luzerne County Community College.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
A working sink in a classroom at LCCC is connected to a working garbage disposal.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
If you page through the Career & Technical Education Guide that you can find on the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center website, your eyes may be drawn to some of the big numbers.
How much is the demand for solar panel installers expected to grow over the next 10 years? 52%.
What about wind turbine technicians? 68% over the next decade.
How many openings will there be for industrial mechanics? 451,000 over 10 years.
How many nursing assistants? 1.87 million.
Those are just a few of the many careers for which you can prepare at the CTC or similar schools, and there are many paths to success.
For example, as Luzerne County Community College president John Yudichak pointed out, thanks to the recent awarding of $2 million in Dual Credit Innovation Grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, LCCC’s new Career & Technology Academy is delivering “unprecedented higher education opportunities to more than 4,000 of the region’s career and technical high school students.”
Taking community college classes while you’re still in high school can be “a direct pathway to a post-secondary certificate or degree at no cost to the student,” Yudichak said.
But let’s say you’re already out of high school. If you want to prepare for a skilled trade, you can enroll at a community college and work toward a certificate, perhaps with a plan to eventually earn an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree.
“The sky’s the limit, depending on how hard you work,” LCCC plumbing and heating instructor Mark Kobusky said, leading a tour of classrooms where you can find such real-world items as steam boilers and panel boxes, sinks and garbage disposals.
To show the students the kind of equipment plumbers used a few generations ago, Kobusky has a collection of odds and ends that he keeps on hand “for show and tell,” he said. “You have to know about old stuff,” he said, estimating that a relief valve in the collection could be about 50 years old.
But the skilled trades are focused on the future, even as the Pennsylvania Department of Education estimates that by 2030, Pennsylvania will need 300,000 skilled trades workers to fuel the state’s economy.
Perhaps you’ll be one of them. Can you see yourself installing, repairing and maintaining fiber optics cables? Designing fire alarms and sprinkler systems? Repairing the blades of a wind turbine? Taking photos with a drone?
Describing “an unprecedented demand for skilled trade workers across all industry sectors,” Luzerne County Community College President John Yudichak explained the state’s 15 community colleges are banding together to answer the need.
“Building on the success of LCCC’s Career & Technology Academy, the college will soon be launching a new Micro-credential Academy and a Construction & Building Trade Pre-Apprenticeship Academy that will provide students with even more affordable and flexible pathways to earn post-secondary credentials that lead to high-demand, high-wage careers that bolsters individual success and strengthens Pennsylvania communities.”
Earlier this month, Edward Kuehner and John Weaver attended a 4-day training in fiber optics technology. It was “practical, industry-based knowledge,” Weaver said.
“This training gave us valuable hands-on experience with the latest fiber optics technology and industry practices,” said Kuehner. “We can bring that knowledge back to LCCC to strengthen our curriculum and better prepare students for the growing demand for fiber optic skills in the workforce.”
Knowledge of fiber optics is just one small part of the many ways LCCC and other schools are preparing students for trades of the future. With an eye toward building a skilled workforce, LCCC has joined with Lehigh Carbon Community College, Northampton Community College and Bucks County Community College, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, to form a Technology and Trades Consortium focused on developing new fiber optic technician programs at each college.
Which other fields are we likely to hear more about in the future?
• Industrial maintenance
What it is: Energy and manufacturing plants employ industrial maintenance workers to maintain and repair machines and equipment. Some common entry-level maintenance roles include industrial maintenance technicians, field service technicians, and installation technicians. A few examples of more advanced careers in the field are power plant operators and facilities managers.
Opportunity for career growth: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there will be around 45,000+ average annual industrial maintenance technician job openings in the U.S. between 2024 and 2034, with a 13% growth rate.
• Water treatment operators
What it is: Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators manage a system of machines to transfer or treat water or wastewater.
Opportunity for career growth: Most states have levels of licenses for water and wastewater treatment operators, but requirements vary depending on the state. The level of license indicates the operator’s experience and training, and each increase in license allows the operator to control a larger plant and more complicated processes. Operators who have the highest license level work as shift supervisors and are placed in charge of large teams of operators.
• Fire protection technicians
What it is: Fire protection technicians specialize in the science of fire prevention. They help diagnose risks of fire and design safeguards against fire. They are employed by federal, state, and local firefighting organizations or take jobs in insurance or with manufacturers that design fire alarms, extinguishers, and sprinkler systems.
Opportunity for career growth: Aspiring fire protection technicians typically start out with an apprenticeship or similar role, and afterward choose to specialize in a specific field. Two potential career paths include becoming a fire sprinkler CAD designer (designs, coordinates, and prepares reports for projects) and becoming a suppression sales engineer (sells fire-suppression products to companies). The BLS reports that the overall employment of fire inspectors is projected to grow 6% from 2024 to 2034.
• Wind and solar technicians
What it is: Wind and solar technicians install, maintain, and repair systems that convert sunlight and wind into energy. Solar technicians work with systems that include solar panels, batteries, inverters, and wiring, while wind technicians work with wind turbines.
Opportunity for career growth: Wind and solar technicians are both careers that are in very high demand. According to the BLS, the employment of solar installers is projected to grow 42% from 2024 to 2034, and the employment of wind turbine technicians will grow 50% from 2024 to 2034.
• Drone pilots
What it is: Drone pilots remotely operate drones for commercial, industrial, governmental, and creative operations. They support various industries, such as filmmaking, construction, agriculture, public safety, surveying, logistics, and defense.
Opportunity for career growth: Drone piloting is a fast-growing industry due to the increasing use of commercial drones. Notable employers hiring drone pilots include utility companies, law enforcement agencies, Amazon, UPS, and more.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.