On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Education (PDE) invited schools to take advantage of a new opportunity to help young Pennsylvanians explore technical and highway industry careers. Signups open today for PennDOT’s new Heavy Highway Industry Career Day program, which will bring industry presenters and career pathway information to interested schools starting this fall.

The heavy highway industry includes many skilled jobs such as construction inspector, mechanic, laborer, electrician, stonemason, welder, painter, cost estimator, and surveyor.

Any Pennsylvania middle school, high school, or Career and Technical Center may register to host a career day by emailing RA-PDWORKFORCEDEV@pa.gov. The programs will include hands-on demonstrations, open conversation with industry experts, and presentations.

“The Shapiro Administration has aggressively leaned in to growing Pennsylvania’s skilled workforce, and this is yet another example of that mission,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “These Career Days are another way to build expertise and interest among the young minds that will build Pennsylvania in the future.”

The Career Day program was developed following Governor Josh Shapiro’s July 2023 executive order that created the Commonwealth Workforce Transformation Program (CWTP), a first-in-the-nation job training program that provides workforce development investments to ensure companies, contractors, unions, and others who are working to build Pennsylvania’s infrastructure have the skilled workforce they need.

The program is one of the many ways the Shapiro Administration is investing in Pennsylvania workers, addressing workforce shortages across industries with real solutions, and empowering Pennsylvanians to chart their own course and access the training they need to succeed.

“For Pennsylvania students who see a future in the building and construction trades, these are the careers that showcase their skills, pride, and provide a pathway to a family-sustaining wage,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe. “Programs like Heavy Highway Industry Career Days help students see that future for themselves by connecting what they’re learning in the classroom to real opportunities in the workforce, and that’s how we build stronger pathways for students that lead to a stronger Pennsylvania.”

Since 2023, the state has increased funding in Career and Technical Education by $65 million – nearly 50 percent – helping to expand access for students, not only in career and technical centers (CTCs), but also through CTE programs right in their high schools. As a result, CTE enrollment has continued to grow under the Administration, with more than 3,000 additional students engaging in CTE and career readiness programming. These investments have helped expand access to CTE in Pennsylvania, bringing more CTE teachers back into classrooms, providing students with state-of the art equipment and learning spaces, and better preparing students for success in the workforce.

Last year, Pennsylvania earned the top spot among all 50 states in a national study of how schools across the country are preparing middle school students for careers. To build on that success, Pennsylvania has joined a coalition of teams from Arizona, Kentucky, Washington, and Arkansas to accelerate efforts nationwide to prepare American students for success beyond high school. The coalition formed from the “Extending the Runway” report that ranked Pennsylvania with the highest possible score for middle school career exploration. Through the coalition, the Shapiro Administration is continuing to lead the way by working with Pennsylvania schools on a new career-readiness program that will put students in an advisory role, focus on hands-on learning experiences, and leverage community partnerships.

CWTP was created to expand opportunities for hands-on job training to support Pennsylvania’s workforce for critical infrastructure projects throughout the Commonwealth and is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The initiative also ensures that participating Pennsylvanians have the tools they need to succeed by offering supportive services to assist with child care costs, transportation and professional development.

The Career Day program is supported by federal highway construction dollars deemed eligible for workforce development initiatives through the IIJA.