Tec Centro Workforce Network

According to the U.S. Census, Black and Hispanic populations are growing significantly across the Central Pennsylvania region. Between 2010 and 2020, Dauphin County saw a 66% increase in Hispanic and 5% increase in Black populations, followed by Lebanon with 63% and 12%, York with 61% and 15%, Berks with 42% and 9%, and Lancaster with 36% and 17%, respectively. Collectively, this accounts for hundreds of thousands of people who also account for a disproportionately high level of unemployment and underemployment, most commonly linked to a lack of education and skilled training.

In Pennsylvania, more than a quarter of both Hispanics and Blacks are living in poverty, with 11.9% of Hispanics and 13.7% of Blacks unemployed. And those numbers are even higher in counties with third-class cities. Compare this to the 5.4% unemployment rate for whites. The problem is amplified by the fact that 28.35% of Hispanics and 13.7% of Blacks in Pennsylvania don’t have a high school diploma, making it even more difficult to obtain family sustaining jobs that offer livable wages and related benefits. 

The Tec Centro Workforce Network, a coalition of bilingual workforce development and training centers, is making strides in addressing this issue head-on. Founded in 2023, the Network includes established centers in Berks, Lancaster, Lebanon, York and Dauphin Counties. Each of the centers is a self-governed 501(c)3 organization with its own local board.

The Tec Centro Centers provide no tuition, bilingual adult basic education, computer and occupational training in careers, such as healthcare, construction and facility maintenance, that are in high demand in their local communities. These career opportunities provide full-time employment with family-sustaining wages and benefits. The adult learner on average pays about $100 for their program while the true cost, often in the thousands of dollars, is underwritten by the center through a combination of charitable dollars, government grants and support, corporate contributions leveraging Pennsylvania’s Neighborhood Assistance Program, and philanthropy.

Most importantly, Tec Centro’s doors are open to everyone regardless of race, education, income, or any other factor. The demographics of people served by the centers vary by location but primarily include diverse cultures, bilingual and non-English speakers who are commonly unemployed or underemployed and living at or below the poverty line.

The Tec Centro Workforce Network serves five local Tec Centro programs operating in Central Pennsylvania. These agencies provide integrated workforce services to marginalized, low-income individuals, especially those with English language deficiencies. The Network is working on establishing centers in the Lehigh Valley as well as the neighborhood surrounding the Esperanza Center in urban Philadelphia.

Those served by Tec Centro programs generally lack adequate English-speaking abilities, have inadequate academic achievement (lack of a high school diploma) and lack marketable occupational skills. These individuals have faced a lifetime of being underserved, starting with their experiences in the local public school systems and commonly lack the necessary minimum skills (language and high school diploma) to qualify for traditional post-secondary education.

The continued expansion of the current Tec Centro network of agencies and establishment of new Tec Centro programs in other communities will provide this underserved population with the opportunity to improve their language skills, achieve high school diplomas and receive state of the art occupational training in high demand occupations in the local employment market.

Tec Centro’s model provides ESL training, high school equivalency classes, digital literacy classes, and occupational training. Training includes Allied Health Occupations, Warehouse Maintenance, Culinary Arts, Commercial Driver License (CDL) training, commercial electrical, plumbing and HVAC. 

Each Tec Centro is physically located in the heart of the marginalized communities they serve. In addition, each center is structured as its own local nonprofit, community-based organization which is managed by a board of directors composed of local individuals who are representatives of the communities they serve. Many board members still live in these communities and other board members represent organizations and businesses which serve the marginalized communities. In addition, each of the Tec Centros have bilingual staff who are residents of the community.

The CEO of the Network, Carlos Graupera, personally resides in the Lancaster community where he has called home for over 45 years. Mr. Graupera is the Founder and Former CEO of SACA (Spanish American Civic Association) which has served the Latino community since 1974. Mr. Graupera is the founder of the Tec Centro movement and founded the Lancaster Tec Centro in 2014. Mr. Graupera is also responsible for forging partnerships with the local educational organizations in Lancaster, Harrisburg Area Community College, and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.

The Board President of the Network, Marlyn Barbosa, is currently the Director of the Lancaster Tec Centro. She, at one time, was a client of SACA’s original Employment and Training program which grew to become Tec Centro in 2014.

Other board members of The Network include the Executive Directors of each of the regional Tec Centro locations, representing Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York Counties.

The Tec Centro movement started in 2014 with the opening of Tec Centro Lancaster. In 2018, due to high demand, this location opened a second facility in southeast Lancaster City. Today, it provides ESL training, high school equivalency, and a range of occupational training including Allied Health as well as various trades such as plumbing, electrical and HVAC.

In 2020, community leaders in Reading requested assistance in establishing a Tec Centro program. In 2021, the Berks Tec Centro acquired a facility in the heart of the urban core of Reading and opened its doors for service. They currently offer ESL and high school equivalency along with occupational training such as Allied Health Occupations and Commercial Truck Driver training. The location will soon offer a trades program for commercial electrical, plumbing and HVAC.

The Network’s newest centers are located in Lebanon, York and Harrisburg and all plan to begin offering ESL and high school equivalency along with Health Occupations in the coming months.

During 2023, Tec Centros provided workforce services to over 2,400 individuals with an 85% program completion rate. Tec Centros placed over 400 individuals, with an average wage of $21.50/hour. 

Main website: https://teccentroregionalnetwo...

Plus each location has its own website:

Berks: https://blwdc.org/

Lancaster: https://sacapa.org/tec-centro/

Lebanon: https://www.wepaempowercenter....

York: https://ytcpa.org/

Harrisburg: https://www.teccentrocr.org/

The fundamental element of the Tec Centro movement is the integration of English as a Second Language, High School Equivalency, and Occupational training in one central location within a neighborhood with high concentrations of marginalized individuals with high indexes of need in terms of poverty, limited English speaking skills and lack of high school diplomas. With all three programs offered in the same facility, it allowed the student to learn at his/her own pace and gradually integrate into the next level of education/training.

Prior to the establishment of Tec Centro, our residents had to find adequate transportation to access all of these services as they were rarely if ever, located in the neighborhood and were often located in suburban and rural communities which offered limited access, even with public transportation. In addition, the Tec Centro movement was successful in establishing partnerships with local post-secondary schools such as community colleges and technical colleges to provide necessary state-certified instructors for the courses offered. By providing certified instructions, Tec Centro was able to award occupation competency certificates which provide students with the ability to qualify for entry-level positions in their chosen careers.

Another element of innovation is that each of these local programs is governed by boards of directors comprised of neighborhood residents, former program clients, and community-based business leaders. 

Our workforce initiative goals are to achieve the following:

Provide equitable access to workforce programs:  Reduce the skills gap in our communities by equipping 80% of our participants with the necessary credentials to obtain meaningful employment within six months of program completion.

Empower Career Advancement: Foster career mobility by providing specialized pathways, such as welding, metal fabrication, and allied health programs, to support participants in accessing higher-paying jobs.

Address Community Needs: Increase program offerings to address the academic and digital literacy needs for adults’ learners in our community by offering digital literacy classes, English As a Second Language and HS Diploma Equivalency classes ensuring more individuals can improve their language, academic, and literacy skills.

To track progress towards these goals, we use the following metrics:

Enrollment and Program Completion Rates: Monitor the percentage of participants who successfully complete training, and credential programs and the number of participants attending their HS Diploma equivalency.

Employment Outcomes: Track job placement rates, job retention (90-day benchmarks), and average wage growth for graduates.

Participant Engagement and Academic Grow- Measure attendance, participation in career exploration workshops (e.g., using tools like Pairin), and feedback from participants. In addition to measure language and digital skills gained after program enrollment.

Demographic Impact: Collect data on the number of underrepresented individuals served and their outcomes to ensure our services are being provided in an equitable approach with successful outcomes for the individuals we serve.

Waitlist Reduction: Regularly assess the program waitlist’s size, capacity, and pivot or increase our offerings considering employment market needs and community needs. 

The Tec Centro Network employs a full-time Chief Executive Officer as well as a Chief Financial Officer. In support of the mission of the Network, it also employs content experts on a consultant basis to provide specific services. These include the following:

• Fundraising Consultant
• Grant Writing Consultant
• Media Consultant
• Human Resources Consultant
• Curriculum Consultants in the Health and Trades Occupations  

As early as 1974, Mr. Graupera, the founder of the Tec Centro movement, has been advocating for the provision of technical education in low-income neighborhoods. As noted above, the first Tec Centro facility opened in Lancaster in 2014, the second opened in Lancaster in 2019.

The Reading/Berks Tec Centro opened in 2021. The Lebanon Tec Centro opened in 2024 and the York and Harrisburg Tec Centros will open in early 2025.

The Tec Centro Workforce Network strongly supports the MIT Solve statement of core values, involving optimism, partnership, open innovation and human-centered solutions while upholding the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.

This DEI effort will require that the Network and its member agencies adhere to the following guiding principles in the operation of our programs.

We will promote the inclusion of members of the underserved communities that we serve at both the staffing and governance levels of operation.

We will seek the input of our diverse stakeholders in the development of programming; this will include both members of our community, students in our programs, members of the local employer community, and key leaders of local and state government.

We will ensure that the selection of staff takes into account not only educational and experiential qualifications, but knowledge of both the community and its residents.

We will constantly monitor and evaluate the DEI efforts of our members as well as the internal operations of our organization.

The Tec Centro business model is based on six foundational pillars:

• The Tec Centro network will always partner with a local community-based nonprofit that is committed to the mission of the Network. We seek out local organizations that have a clearly stated mission that is compatible with that of Tec Centro network.
• All members must commit to using the Tec Centro program model of offering English as a Second Language, high school equivalency and a robust menu of occupational training which leads to clear career pathways to self-sufficiency at low or no cost to the student.
• We will always encourage our local agencies to seek out partnerships with existing post-secondary education institutions in their communities, including local community colleges.
• We strongly encourage the adoption of an integrated approach to workforce development services for our disadvantaged clients. We believe that the integrated approach allows our clients to learn at their own pace as they move along the continuum of educational services from ESL to high school equivalency learning and onto occupational training leading to a full-time job in high-demand occupations with clear career pathways to self-improvement.
• All members must participate in our common client data collection system, provided through the network and the reporting of outcomes to the public and funding sources.
• All members must commit to strong support diversity, equity and inclusivity policies in all aspects of their operations, including human resources, program management, client recruitment and program participation.

In order for the Network to be financially sustainable, it needs to succeed in securing a steady source of income from state, federal, philanthropic, and corporate support.

Regarding state funding, the Network was able to secure a line item from the Pennsylvania state budget for the last 3 years. The first-year allocation was $5,000,000. The second-year allocation was $8,000,000. The third-year allocation is $15,000,000. 

Each of the Network member organizations is on a path of creating of creating a revenue level of $500,000 minimum in corporate and philanthropic gifts on an annual basis. The Network consultants are working with each organization to reach his level. The older and more established Tec Centro operations have already reached and exceed this level and the newer ones will be assisted to reach that volume. The Network also assists its member agencies in utilizing the state’s Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit program.  This program provides up to 90% tax credits to corporations providing donations to state approved programs such as Tec Centro.   This program helps to incentivize charitable donations to our local member agencies.

The third level of support is federal funding which is being worked on with our local federal legislators.

We are excited and honored to participate in the Inspire Awards programs for the following reasons:

• We would like to share our experiences and learn from the experiences of other organizations with similar missions on a national level.
• We will use the funds to further our expansion of the proven Tec Centro model across Pennsylvania and to communities in the United States.
• We would like to work with other community-based organizations throughout the US that may want to utilize the Tec Centro model to establish local programs similar to those provided in Pennsylvania.