February 2024- New Century Careers

The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce is extremely proud to select New Century Careers as the Chamber Champion for the month of February . New Century Careers was established as a nonprofit organization in 1999. Since then, New Century Careers has strived to grow the skills of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s manufacturing workforce to improve the lives of individuals through the skills development that leads to good quality family-wage jobs and careers while also supporting the region’s vibrant and ever-changing advanced manufacturing environment.

According President/CEO of New Century Careers, Neil Ashbaugh, “We are proud and humbled to be serving the citizens of the Westmoreland County area through our tuition-free training and job placement assistance pre-apprenticeship, MANUFACTURING 2000 (M2K), through our location in Pittsburgh, and with our partner in Latrobe, the Eastern Westmoreland CTC. Winning this award shows that the businesses of Westmoreland County value our mission to provide inclusive training for all, while meeting the needs of manufacturers in the region with quality, highly-skilled, entry-level employees who can have a life-time career with these companies. Again, on behalf of our entire team, we are grateful for receiving this recognition!”

When the group of representatives from Steel Center Area Vocational-Technical School, The Institute for Economic Transformation at Duquesne University, and executives representing seventeen manufacturers partnered to create the MANUFACTURING 2000 (M2K) training program to fill these positions, they couldn’t have imagined the rapid transformation of the region’s industry into a high-profile hub of eds and meds, mechatronics, robotics and links to cyber, military and aerospace markets.

While the fundamentals of manufacturing remain the foundation of NCC’s training, New Century Careers itself responds rapidly to the trends.  In 2019, the launch of its Certified Registered Robotics Technician Apprenticeship Program and the installation of a Haas ST-10Y with FANUC robotic arm in 2021 enhanced NCC’s already robust capabilities to prepare trainees for the increasing demands of advanced manufacturing to fill robotics positions regionally.  NCC is said to be one of just a few nonprofit training centers in the country to have these capabilities.

A public-private partnership with Southwestern Industries, Inc./TRAK Machine Tools established the TRAK Pittsburgh Showroom at NCC’s Anselmo Training Innovation Center in 2020.  As a result, NCC trainees learn on industry-leading machines that will enhance their employability.  Tri-state companies (Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia) also benefit from the centrally located showroom and introduction to training possibilities for their incumbent employees.

Capitalizing on technology’s advantages, New Century Careers digitized its curriculum to accommodate and empower new generations of trainees using a mobile web application in 2022. The project built consistent visual procedural content for NCC’s Manufacturing 2000 (M2K) curriculum to be accessed through vendor Rewyndr’s application on tablets so that trainees can reference step-by-step instructor and industry knowledge as they complete their assignments.  M2K is NCC’s PA State Registered Pre-apprenticeship Machinist Training Program.

As it was at its inception, a critical component of the New Century Careers formula is strong relationships with regional manufacturers and other industry partners.  New Century Careers collaborates with 130 local Partner Company manufacturers, four local Workforce Investment Boards in nine counties, programs through Operation Next, PA CareerLink and EmployHER, and many supportive organizations shedding light on the opportunities and impact that manufacturing provides for the region’s people and economy.  For more information regarding their programs, training and more, please contact them at (412) 258-6620 or visit their website at https://www.ncsquared.com/