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Training center wows labor secretary

Steamfitters Local 449 business manager Ken Broadbent gives a tour of the Technology Center training facility in Jackson Township to Pennsylvania Labor Secretary Jennifer Berrier on Wednesday. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

JACKSON TWP — For Jennifer Berrier, the Steamfitters Technology Center offers a wealth of opportunity for Western Pennsylvanians interested in entering the building trades.

Berrier, the state's secretary of labor and industry, visited Butler County for the first time as secretary Wednesday to see what she called one of the larger and more impressive building trade training centers across the state.

“This is intimidating,” she said while touring a segment of the building with different types of heating, ventilation and air conditioning units. “I didn't realize how much different equipment there was.”The labor secretary has visited other training centers in Pennsylvania, but remarked the Jackson Township building — only four years old — has equipment allowing apprentices to learn on appliances old and new.“It's very clear when you walk through here that they have the most up-to-date technology,” Berrier said. “There's nothing here that's outdated.”<b> A portion of this story is shared with you as a digital media exclusive. To read the full story and support our local, independent newsroom, please subscribe at butlereagle.com. </b>

Pennsylvania Labor Secretary Jennifer Berrier speaks with an instructor during a tour of the Steamfitters Local 449 Technology Center training facility Wednesday in Jackson Township.PHOTOGRAPHY BY Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

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