“Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has cut investment in career and technical training by half,” Davis said. “Over the past two decades, many school districts have been forced to tighten their belts and make cuts. Career and technical education has been a victim of those cuts in many parts of this commonwealth.”

Walking with GACTC Executive Director Eric Palmer, Davis was shown student 3D modeling projects by engineering design technologies program instructor Dusty Mauk, the automotive and diesel technology department’s Cummins diesel engine trainer by teacher Scott Dalby, as well as the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration and cabinetry and finished carpentry classrooms. Davis even made a stop at The Bakery, where he bought “the best cup of coffee” he had all week from sophomore Elijah Harvey.

Following the tour, Davis spoke about workforce shortages and the 2023-24 budget that he said can combat those struggles in the long term.

“We need more doctors and nurses, particularly in rural Pennsylvania, but we also need dental assistants and hygienists,” Davis said. “From 2019 to the end of 2020, Pennsylvania lost 1,680 dental assistants — close to 15% of the workforce. If we’re going to address these workforce shortages, we need to create pipelines of talent for these key industries and ladders of opportunities for folks to succeed.”

Engineering Design Technologies program instructor Dusty Mauk (right) describes a student 3D modeling project to Lt. Gov. Austin Davis during a tour of Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center on Thursday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The proposed career and technical education budget includes more than $3 million in new funding to upgrade technology and equipment; $4 million to support employment and expand program offerings in high demand areas of health care, STEM, energy and infrastructure trades; $5 million for increasing computer science and STEM programs; $2 million to establish a program that will allow industry professionals to teach; and

$3.5 million for a new schools-to-work-program, according to Davis.

Dental assistant teacher Andrea Lascoli highlighted the importance of such funding, saying thanks to that and grants, the GACTC “can provide our students with the latest equipment and technologies ensuring they’re prepared to meet industry standards and making them even more employable than others.”

In her program, Lascoli helps students explore and identify potential career paths, from hygienist to dentist.

“To provide these opportunities, it requires very expensive equipment and technology,” Lascoli said. “For example, we use a $40,000 digital impression scanner to create 3D models of teeth, giving our students the ability to work with cutting-edge technology that many dental offices in the area may not even have, but will become very needed in the future.”

Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center Executive Director Eric Palmer (right) and Automotive/Diesel Technology teacher Scott Dalby (center) show Lt. Gov. Austin Davis the department’s Cummins diesel engine trainer during a tour on Thursday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Bob Kutz, president of the Blair-Bedford Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, said he was happy that Davis and Gov. Josh Shapiro “are committed to the trades and committed to making these things work for the youngsters.”

“There’s no reason that a young man or woman that comes out of here with a trade can’t go out and make six figures,” Kutz said. “I mean, it is a doable thing — and you can’t say that about every four-year degree there is because that’s just not true.”

Kutz also expressed interest in “making a bigger, better facility” so the GACTC wouldn’t have to turn away any students.

With its about 1,100 students and 25 programs, the GACTC is one of more than 80 career and technical centers across the state, Palmer said.

“Governor Shapiro and I have your back, and we’re gonna do everything we can to invest in programs like this, because we know they create ladders of opportunities for folks and we want Pennsylvania to lead in career and technical education,” Davis said.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.