The Northern Tier Industry & Educational Consortium (NTIEC) is a foundational partnership for Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation. Cabot has worked with the organization for the better part of a decade, facilitating career development and financial literacy programs throughout the region. Recently, through the use of the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), Cabot invested $25,000 to support NTEIC’s important efforts. Pete Butler, the director of NTEIC, took some time to share thoughts about the impact this funding will have:

Recently the Northern Tier Industry & Education Consortium (NTIEC) received a grant of $25,000 from Cabot Oil & Gas to support career education and work-based learning programs for area students. This significant donation, when combined with funds from other supporters, enabled NTIEC to serve over 2,500 students across the five Northern Tier counties. The common denominator in every NTIEC program is placing students face to face with employers to learn about career opportunities and educational pathways for success in those careers. NTIEC programs include Youth Apprenticeships (YAP), Healthcare Internships, Job Shadowing, Healthcare Career Day, Manufacturing Career Day, Vehicular Career Day, Healthcare Career Camp, Safety City, Social Media (Cyber Bullying), and Financial Literacy.

One of NTIEC’s newer programs, the Hospital Internship Program provided 52 area students with a work based learning experience at three local hospitals over the last year. Students selected by school staff members are invited to visit Tyler Memorial Hospital, Endless Mountains Health Systems or Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton once a week for seven weeks. The program exposes students to the equipment and staff in each department where they learn about the daily routines, career opportunities and education needed. Feedback from students has been very positive. Wyalusing Area’s Olivia Cruz comments, “The Internship Program is a great learning experience that will help with my future plans in healthcare.”

NTIEC’s Healthcare Career Camp is another program that was helped with the funding received from Cabot’s grant. During this weeklong summer program, 13 students from local schools were able to interact with healthcare professionals and get a hands-on experience at area medical facilities. Students tested their skills at taking blood pressure, watching an amputation at the local vet hospital, and dressing for a day in the Operating Room at one of our local hospitals. Students were able to explore a broad range of career options and learn more about important healthcare issues that impact our local community.  Camp student Erin Phillips remarks, “I enjoyed the entire week of Healthcare Career Camp. I came in with a fair knowledge of healthcare careers, but I am leaving the week with more healthcare interests than I ever thought I would.”

More than 200 students from Wyalusing, Montrose, Tunkhannock, Blue Ridge, Susquehanna, Mountain View, Elk Lake and Lackawanna Trail schools also benefited from Cabot’s support at NTIEC’s annual Health Care Career Day at the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center on November 3, 2015. Throughout the day, students were able to talk one-on-one with local health care professionals about skills and education needed in today’s health care fields. Presenters from different health care specialties brought information and expertise to the event and fielded questions throughout the day as students made their rounds from station to station.

Success in the manufacturing sector parallels that in health care from Cabot’s funding. Melissa Mapes, P&G Mehoopany’s youth apprenticeship leader reports that the Youth Apprenticeship Program is their preferred method of hiring as they continue to host about 30 apprentices in any given year.  P&G has hired well over 200 full time employees through NTIEC’s Youth Apprenticeship Program over the years. Career savings of over $100,000 per employee hired through the YAP program have been documented as a result of reduced turnover, lower initial training costs and fewer costly production and quality incidents.

NTIEC also was able to partner with Junior Achievement and Cabot to deliver programs to students in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Last year, local students participated in learning about economics for success. Throughout the lessons, students learn the importance of exploring career options based on their skills, interests, and values. They also learn about spending money within a budget; saving and investing wisely; and using credit cautiously.

Partnerships with leading employers such as Cabot Oil & Gas enables NTIEC to continue bringing these successful programs to our community.  Not only do students and employers benefit, every local youngster who works and continues to live in our communities brings lifetime earnings of about $2,000,000, much of it spent right here to support local businesses, schools, and hospitals. NTIEC applauds Cabot for their ongoing commitment to our students and communities in the Northern Tier and looks forward to helping, even more, students successfully transition from school to careers in the future.