LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — It doesn't take long to find a “now hiring” sign in the Humboldt Industrial Park. They're scattered throughout here and the rest of the greater Hazleton area.
Officials with CAN DO Inc. in Hazleton and Johnson College of Technology in Scranton announced that they are teaming up to help fill those positions by opening the first satellite campus for the technical school in Hazle Township.
“We were able to kind of put our heads together and say, ‘Hey, like there's a vacant facility in Hazleton. it's already set up like a school, so why not see if there's an opportunity to bring what Johnson has been doing for 110 years down to the Hazleton area?’ And so it kind of evolved into this," said Bill Burke, Johnson College vice president of enrollment and student affairs.
The satellite campus will offer programs in six fields, including welding technology, industrial technology, and property maintenance.
“We hear a lot from the industries. Going to work constantly, going out, and meeting with the industries, and we hear a lot from them that that skilled positions are in great need," said Joseph Lettiere, CAN DO president and CEO.
Leaders at CAN DO tell Newswatch 16 they have partnered with educational institutions in the past, but this is the first time a partnership has landed a brick-and-mortar location in the center of the greater Hazleton area.
“This is a big deal. We've been trying to recruit technical school of this magnitude for, again, it's been decades," Lettiere said.
Johnson College says it has resources available to help students regardless of the barriers they think may stand in their way.
“Whether it is child care, transportation, even food insecurity, so really kind of working with students on an individual basis. I mean, I know we have public transportation that comes to this location, so I think that's a great opportunity in addition to the flexibility in the schedules — day, evening, online, really kind of help that student achieve what they need to," Burke said.
This Johnson College satellite campus will open in August.
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