City of Wilkes-Barre employees are the latest to receive discounted tuition from Luzerne County Community College as part of the school’s workforce development partnership program.
Six weeks after the college announced a program for Luzerne County employees, school leaders returned to the Diamond City.
“From police officers to firefighters, from DPW workers to administrative staff, city employees do valuable and important work on behalf of the residents of the city,” college President John Yudichak said during a press conference at Wilkes-Barre City Hall. “Investing in city employees is investing in the health and prosperity of the city of Wilkes-Barre.”
Tuition discount for Wilkes-Barre employees
The college will discount tuition 25%, and the city will pay 25%. City employees will be responsible for 50% of the cost, or $75 per credit.
The city will use money in the general fund to pay for the program, Mayor George Brown said.
“I'm constantly trying to look for succession planning and helping our workforce to gain new knowledge, new skills, new abilities, so that they'll be the ones that will take over if someone leaves,” said Brown, a trustee at LCCC. “I'm looking forward to see how skill levels of our employees are going to increase, but also how we have a better city to provide the services that residents need in the city of Wilkes-Barre.”
City employees will go through the mayor’s office for approval. Brown said his office will approve classes that will benefit both the city and employee.
Benefits for city, greater community
The city’s fire department will be among the first to benefit, using the program for continuing fire safety education, training and professional development. The program could potentially ease a shortage of paramedics, currently seen at both local and national levels, said fire Chief Jay Delaney, a graduate of LCCC. He has taught in the college's paramedic program for nearly 20 years.
“I see this … as a perfect fit for us to be able to attract and get paramedics into our fire department to help provide service to the community,” Delaney said.
More partnerships are in development, Yudichak said.
“Luzerne County Community College wants to be a partner with the community. As I say all the time, community is in our name, community is in our mission, and communities are where we are invested,” he said. “This is a very important part of delivering the workforce that we need in our cities and our counties, in our local nonprofits that deliver the wonderful services that they deliver to the people of Northeastern PA.”
