TANNERSVILLE - A $100,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission will enable Northampton Community College (NCC) to expand workforce training in northeastern Pennsylvania in the fields of healthcare and biotechnology.  

The grant will support the purchase of equipment and supplies for science and allied health-related programs at Northampton's campus in Tannersville.  When the new campus is completed in January of 2014, the equipment will be incorporated into state-of-the-art nursing, allied health, biotechnology and biology labs.   

Workforce development programs offered by the community college in Monroe County are open to displaced workers and to employees of area firms seeking to update their knowledge, as well as to recent high school graduates.  

 "Part of our mission as a community college is to provide the human resources that local businesses need to thrive," explains Dr. Matt Connell, the dean of Northampton's Monroe Campus.  

The Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) was instrumental in assisting NCC in securing the funding.