Community College Opens Center For Advanced Technologies In Bristol Twp.

There are estimated to be more than 3,000 jobs that are sitting unfilled across Bucks County because there aren’t enough workers trained to fill them.

On Thursday, a new center opened in Bristol Township that aims to train those workers and prepare the county for a future with well-paying jobs in the trades.

With much fanfare and officials from the lower, central, and upper parts of the county in attendance, the doors were opened to Bucks County Community College’s new state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Technologies building at the College’s Gene & Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks.

The $9.9 million, 28,000-square-foot building that sits just off Veterans Highway (Route 413) near Route 13 and I-95 is built with an eye to training locals for the workforce of today and the years to come.

The new facility is home to the community college’s manufacturing pre-apprenticeship programs, welding program, CDL training, industrial safety, and soon to come building and construction trades pre-apprenticeship and HVAC programs.

The new center also offers online workforce training in Microsoft Office technology, bookkeeping with QuickBooks, and ESL (English as a Second Language). New programs are planned in robotics, public safety drone training, and 3D printing.

The center is filled with modern classrooms, flexible work spaces, manufacturing tools, and other gizmos needed for job training. A Boston Dynamics’ robotic dog was on display and drew quite a crowd to watch it perform tricks.

Instead of a ribbon cutting, Bucks County Community College President Felicia Ganther wielded a hand grinder and cut through a metal pipe to open the new center.

Ganther celebrated the new center as a big step for the community college, which also has campuses in Newtown Township and East Rockhill Township.

“The intent of this building is to be flexible, so we are ensured to be viable for the future,” she said.

Tom Jennings, chair of the Bucks County Community College Board of Trustees, said the project was a huge undertaking and wouldn’t be possible without support from the township, county, and state.

“A lot of effort went into this,” he said, adding the center will enhance the community.

Susan Herring, the executive director for workforce development at the community college, recognized Penn Community Bank for making a $140,000 investment in scholarships and programs for the center.

Bucks County Commissioner Chairman Bob Harvie, a Democrat, called the new center a “bridge to the future” and a step toward increasing the workforce.

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, told the crowd the center will help Bucks County Community College define itself and standout from other community college in the nation.

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