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View Community Colleges & Programs Manufacturing Career Pathways Funding Resources

Community Colleges

The Community Colleges are a great resource for you and for local industries:

They offer academic and technical training to provide upward mobility and to develop skilled workers with high standards that meet the needs of local industries.

Technical programs provide academic and specific skills training such as:

• Computer-Aided Drafting and Design (CDD)
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology
• Mechanical Technology
• Manufacturing Technology
• Engineering Technology
• Technical Math
• Blueprint Reading
• Machining
• Welding

Low cost training, close to home

• Acquire basic technical skills that will prepare you to enter the workforce
• Upgrade your skills to provide job advancement.
• Complete a certificate program or continue your studies to achieve an Associate's degree.
• Transfer to a 4 year BS Degree program
• Participate in the PRIME curriculum for a manufacturing industry-driven educational program
• There may be special agreements (called articulations) between Career and Technology Centers, other education providers and the Community Colleges which might provide for advanced standing. See Career Pathways.

Certificate Progams

Certificate programs (often one year or less) focus on specific technical skills and qualify you for entry level technical positions.

For example, the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) offers a certificate in Basic Electronics which requires only 33 credits (approximately 1 year of study).

Associate or Bachelor Degree Options with Nanofabrication Concentration

• Offered through the community colleges as well as the PA state system of higher education institutions
• Associate candidates spend 3 semesters in a technical program at a community college and a capstone semester at Penn state University's Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization (CNEU) facilities in University Park
• Bachelor Degree programs have multiple pathways through the state system or through articulation agreements with the community colleges. Students also spend a capstone semester at CNEU
• For more information please consult the CNEU website (www.cneu.psu.edu)

See Careers

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