A job-training model that launched North Carolina Workers straight into the Pharmaceutical Industry is coming to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley - and could be the blueprint for landing a career at Eli Lilly and Company’s new $3.5 billion plant. The Pharmaceutical Giant is building a massive Drug Production Facility in Upper Macungie Township that’s expected to employ about 850 people when it is completed in 2031. To ensure local residents are prepared to compete for those jobs, the State awarded Lehigh Carbon Community College a $5 million grant to train Maintenance Technicians for the facility. The program bypasses traditional degree requirements, emphasizing accelerated, hands-on training instead. Apprentices learn to operate and maintain mechanical, electrical and automation systems, earning industry certifications in smart manufacturing and programmable logic controllers. LCCC will model its curriculum on Wake Technical Community College’s BioMechatronics Apprenticeship in Raleigh, North Carolina. That program, created in partnership with Eli Lilly and other Biotech Firms, pays students from the start of the program. In March, Wake Tech’s inaugural class of nine Apprentices graduated from the eight-month program and immediately transitioned into full-time roles at their respective companies, including Eli Lilly’s Concord, North Carolina Campus.

To Directly Access This Apprenticeship And Training Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: This apprenticeship gave workers Eli Lilly jobs. Pennsylvania is next. - pennlive.com