BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A new college center is opening Tuesday in Northampton County, with hopes to help the next generation of students in a growing field.

69 News Reporter Sydney Kay was in Bethlehem with a look inside and its impact on the region.

The Lackawanna College Bethlehem Center is located at 3184 Airport Road, across from the Lehigh Valley International Airport. It has 42,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, and office space, according to the college’s website.

The college center has 15 instructional rooms, with four of them being dedicated lab classrooms for the Electrical Technology Program, the college’s website says. 

The website says the Welding Shop is approximately 4,200 square feet and includes 28 welding booths for hands-on training. 

The Carpentry and Construction Technology program occupies approximately 6,500 square feet of lab space including a fully equipped Cabinet Shop.

According to its website, the college center offers associate degrees in Carpentry and Construction Technology, Electrical Technology, and Welding and Fabrication Technology.

Joseph Brady, Center Director of the Lackawanna College Bethlehem Center, told Sydney Kay the Bethlehem college center is one of three new trade centers Lackawanna College is opening up, with the other two being in Chambersburg and Greensburg.

“We’re excited to be here,” he said.

Brady said the college’s programs are designed so that students do not need prior knowledge. If you’ve never swing a hammer, the school can teach you, he said.

The trade field is growing.

“It’s a career that’s never going to go away,” he said.

He said there’s a need to fill trade positions, with people retiring from those fields.

The college has been reaching out to employers and hopes to be a part of the community.

The college is holding a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. It’s open to the public. Those interested can attend an open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. To register for the open house, people can head here.

To enroll for an associate degree, people can go to the college’s website.