Governor Joe Manchin was on hand at the ribbon cutting ceremony of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College’s new Technical Center at Berkeley Business Park Wednesday afternoon.The new building will house classrooms and offices, as well as indoor and outdoor training facilities for the college’s new Electric Distribution Technology program being done in partnership with Allegheny Power.Governor Manchin said it is incredible to see this kind of training facility coming from a partnership between a college and the private sector and that it points to West Virginia’s increasing ability to create a world class workforce within the state in order to draw and retain business.  He said this is an example of real training for the real jobs that are available, which needs to be the purpose of education.Manager of Communications with Allegheny Power Allen Staggers said the company currently has more than 700 linemen working but about 8% are due to retire over the next four or five years so the new program will help keep the vital jobs filled.  Allegheny helped fund the construction of the new facility and will provide some of the teachers for the program.  They will also assist with designing the curriculum in conjunction with the Utility Workers Union of America Local 102, the union that represents them.The tech center will also be the site of a new Cisco program in the fall, and Blue Ridge hopes to launch Computer Aided Design training, electro mechanical training and plastic technology training programs in the near future.                                        

Categories: Local News
Tags: Allegheny, Blue Ridge CTC, education, manchin, Staggers, Steerman, Utility, West Virginia