Recently completed renovations at Tec Centro Berks, 450 S. Sixth St., including a fully equipped commercial kitchen and workshops for pre-apprentice and plumbing training classes.
A repurposed parochial school in south Reading was lauded recently by community leaders and state representatives as a center of transformation by helping scores of people overcome barriers to the workforce.
Tec Centro Berks, also known as the Berks Latino Workforce Development Corp., has occupied the former Saints Cyril & Methodius Parochial School, 450 S. Sixth St., since September 2021.
It launched its first allied health program — certified nurse aide — in conjunction with Reading Area Community College in 2022. Phlebotomy and medical billing specialist programs followed.
Tec Centro launched a culinary arts program last year despite not having a commercial kitchen at the time. Classes were held in the evening in the Daniel Torres Hispanic Center in Reading, which loaned the use of its kitchen.
The focus of future expansion has shifted to the trades, but those programs had to wait for renovation of the lower level of Tec Centro’s headquarters.
Tec Centro Berks and the Tec Centro Workforce Network marked a major milestone toward realizing its goals with an April 28 ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony unveiling its newly renovated training spaces.
The event celebrated the transformation of more than 7,100 square feet on the center’s lower level and first-floor auditorium into state-of-the-art classrooms, hands-on labs and a student lounge.
New features include a fully equipped commercial kitchen, plumbing and pre-apprenticeship (general construction) labs, and modernized administrative areas — resources that will support hundreds of students each year in acquiring the skills necessary for in-demand, family-sustaining careers.
“This investment is about much more than bricks and mortar,” said Carlos Graupera, CEO of Tec Centro Workforce Network. “It represents a commitment to the economic future of Berks County.
“When we provide individuals with the tools and training they need to succeed, we strengthen families, employers and the entire community.”
Tec Centro Workforce Network is a coalition of community advocates, public officials, philanthropic leaders and business professionals. The collective goal is to establish community-based bilingual workforce centers to serve disproportionately disadvantaged populations.
The Tec Centro network is made up of urban locations with a heavy concentration of Latino residents within Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. It seeks to work with people who face barriers related to bilingual education, skills training and job placement.
The movement to create bilingual community workforce centers began in Lancaster in 2014 when the Spanish American Civic Association, or SACA, created a bilingual workforce development model, Tec Centro.
The ribbon-cutting in Reading included remarks from elected officials including: state Sen. Judy Schwank, a Wyomissing Democrat; state Sen. Scott Martin, a Lancaster County Republican; Reps. Manny Guzman and Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, both Reading Democrats; and community leaders.
The center honored John Weidenhammer and Karen Rightmire, two philanthropists whose early support helped turn Tec Centro Berks from concept to reality.
Rightmire was serving as president fo the Wyomissing Foundation in 2018 when it proposed the concept of a bilingual workforce training program in Berks. It led to the establishment of the Berks Latino Workforce Development modeled on the SACA-Tec Centro in Lancaster.
“This expansion is a testament to what’s possible when community, philanthropy and purpose come together,” said Violet Emory, executive director of Tec Centro Berks. “The spaces we dedicated today will create pathways for career success, economic mobility and generational change.”
Weidenhammer, founder and CEO of Weidenhammer Systems Corp., Wyomissing, was instrumental in overseeing the renovation project, Emory said. A plaque in his honor hangs above the entrance to the hallway at the bottom of the stairs.
The elected representatives all expressed gratitude for the leadership and vision of those who shepherded the Tec Centro concept to fruition in several Pennsylvania cities.
“I know sometimes government gets a little bad rap,” Guzman said. “Sometimes, you know, you’ll see a lot of the craziness that happens either at the D.C. level or in the Harrisburg level where we work at.
“But sometimes, like this project and others, government actually works.”
