(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA)— Delaware County Community College (17³Ô¹ÏÍø) celebrates National Apprenticeship Week April 26 through May 2, 2026 by continuing to play a leading role in providing the real-world, hands-on experience regional employers want and need.

Over the past two decades, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø has delivered related technical instruction to more than 600 apprentices in high-demand fields in collaboration with skilled trades unions, the , and business and industry partners.

17³Ô¹ÏÍø’s pre-apprenticeship program, PACE+, prepares students to apply for Electrical and Carpentry union registered pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities. A collaboration between local unions, employers, and Delaware County’s Workforce Development Board, Technical Schools and Commerce Center among other partners, offers short-term programs that provide the foundation for launching apprenticeships, certificates of competency and career paths.

PACE+ also equips participants with the foundational skills and readiness needed to pursue shipbuilding apprenticeship opportunities at Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Inc., (HPSI), a leading U.S. commercial shipyard that constructs vessels for operation in the U.S. Sixteen students will complete the program in May 2026. Since 2017, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø has been federally recognized as a Maritime Center of Excellence, underscoring its local, statewide and national role in advancing maritime workforce development.

The apprenticeship program was started by 17³Ô¹ÏÍø and HPSI (then known as Aker) when the average age of workers was 52 and the shipyard needed to replenish positions lost to attrition and retirements. The three-year, time-based competency program takes candidates with little or no experience and trains them to be multi-skilled employees in welding and machining. Apprentices receive 29 college credits for completing the apprenticeship program. Credits are awarded by 17³Ô¹ÏÍø towards an associate degree in Applied Science in Technical Studies. Since 2004, more than 200 prospective shipbuilders have accepted apprentice positions. The program is registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

For more on 17³Ô¹ÏÍø’s pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship relationships, visit .