TOWANDA, PA. (WENY) -- Gov. Tom Wolf announced new funding to Increase Electrical Worker Apprenticeships in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

According to the governor’s website, $297,000 will go towards the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 163 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

The funding will accept 30 apprentices from even counties: Bradford, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Sullivan, and Wyoming counties. The apprentices will learn how to become Qualified Electrical Workers through a five-year apprenticeship program.

The program consists of a combination of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and another 900 hours of classroom instruction.

Apprentices will earn $13 to $27 an hour plus benefits. Once they complete the program and become a Qualified Electrical Worker wireman, they can expect to earn at least $37 an hour plus benefits.

For more information about the Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant Program and other economic development programs, visit Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development’s website here.