Penn College weatherization center considered primary national resource

The last time George Cornelius was at the Pennsylvania College of Technology's Weatherization Training Center on Reach Road, it was far from what he saw Friday during a tour.

"I'm impressed at their accomplishment," said Cornelius, secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development, referring to the strides taken to modernize the facility at 2245 Reach Road in the city's Industrial Complex.

Cornelius was there to tour the center, which is training students to become weatherization professionals who help improve energy efficiency in homes.

"I was here in June before it was so expansive," Cornelius said of the facility, which he described as ground zero for one of the nation's hottest job prospects for students who successfully complete the courses and said is an exellent site for contractors seeking more certification in the latest techniques.

The center is considered by Penn College officials to be one of the nation's primary resources for weatherization-related technical education and training since 1985.

Joining Cornelius on the tour were Larry Michael, executive director, workforce and economic development; Tracy Brundage, managing director, workforce development and continuing education; John Manz, director of the Pennsylvania Housing Resource Center at Penn College and Gerald Welshans, Weatheriz-ation Training Center instructional specialist.

Cornelius' visit came during a time when Gov. Ed Rendell indicates that more than 1,000 state residents who are seeking to become weatherization installers, crew chiefs and auditors will receive training through an investment of $1.1 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

"It's federal stimulus, which goes through the department," Cornelius said. "There's $252.8 million available under the federal stimulus."

Federal money goes to the weatherization assistance, which is administered by the department. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, he said.

Once the employees are trained and get on the sites of poorly weatherized properties, the state expects tens of thousands of residents to benefit with more energy-efficient homes, and potentially lower utility bills, according to Rendell.

Cornelius said he visited Penn College, which he said is a partner in getting weatherization personnel trained. Cornelius later was expected to tour the STEP weatherization program.

Before the center's expansion, 250 to 350 people per year were getting certified to go out and work on homes. But with the expansion, the training is expected to impact 1,000 people annually.

"Our recent renovations have created a first-class training facility that is capable of training more than three times the number of students than previously possible," Manz said.

As Cornelius looked at the classrooms, he reviewed tactics laboratories with instructors teaching diagnostics and hands-on instruction.

Cornelius spent some time in the "wall of heat," which demonstrated how to properly heat the inside of the structure.

Afterward, Cornelius said he considered Penn College among the leading institutions of learning to train weatherization personnel in time when the need is critical to improve the energy efficiency of homes and depend less on foreign sources of fuels.

The training center has two multimedia-equipped classrooms; two more similarly equipped classrooms; a weatherization tactics lab; a weatherization diagnostics and energy conservation lab and office space for instructors and support staff.

The remodeled tactics lab features a class-instruction area, a demonstration structure, six workstations, blower units for installing cellulose insulation, storage for tools and equipment, and wireless capability.

In addition, Cornelius learned the center is primed for workforce development and has instructors teaching courses for employees or contractors of community-based organizations who administer mechanical and building-shell retrofits under the weatherization assistance program.

"We have a tremendous need to train people quickly," Cornelius said. "Penn College's weatherization training center is recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as a leading training facility. The end result is a great partnership."