Apr 10, 2014 3 min read

With the hoisting of 11 shovels, Penn Commercial Business and Technical School sealed the deal on the start of its welding lab.

“The welding trade is one of many things the oil and gas industry needs,” state Sen. Tim Solobay said Thursday afternoon, minutes before the ceremonial groundbreaking for the facility in South Strabane Township.

Welding has made a big comeback in the region, thanks partly to the oil and gas boom, and Penn Commercial has joined the educational fray. It is building the lab behind the school in Oak Spring Center, off Oak Spring Road.

When completed, the one-story lab will occupy 1,600 square feet, which will be accessed through a doorway at the rear of the building where Penn Commercial has been since 2001.

It will feature 20 welding booths, and more important, provide on the-job training for some who are enrolled at Penn Commercial.

“Current students will work with the contractor on some of the work,” said Nicole Lane, director of education at the school.

They will help with installation of electrical and ventilation and drafting of blueprints.

Lane said welding will be an 11-month diploma program, which will include “all necessary certifications.” It will commence, of course, after the lab is completed, which she estimated to be between August and October.

“We’ll be able to have 40 day students,” Lane said, “and if more are interested, we will offer an evening class.”

This will be the 15th career program offered at Penn Commercial, which confers degrees as well as diplomas.

Chuck Kosey is the welding lab project coordinator and Masco Construction Inc. of McMurray is handling construction.

The project got a major financial boost – $300,000 – from the 2013 Washington County Local Share Account, which came from gambling revenues at The Meadows Casino in 2012.

Masco, literally, will be doing the heavy lifting on this endeavor, but Solobay’s “construction crew” kicked off the work Thursday. His group included another state legislator – state Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane Township – plus Washington County Commissioners Larry Maggi, Diana Irey Vaughan and Harlan Shober; school President Robert Bazant; and Vice President of Operations Marianne Albert.

“I’d like to thank the commissioners and the LSA committee in assisting us in making this program a reality,” Bazant said. “I’d like to thank Brandon Neuman, Tim Solobay, PNC Bank, Chuck Kosey, the workers and contractors and finally the students – the future workforce.”

Penn Commercial, which opened in 1929, is growing at age 85. The welding lab is proof it is adapting with the industrial climate as well.

“These are not just jobs, but family-sustaining careers for the next generation,” Neuman said. “It’s helping the younger generation secure a career.”