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A Groundbreaking Partnership

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As part of its ongoing commitment to delivering the best possible experience to its customers, the PA Convention Center has opened a new on-site training center to provide the facility’s staff and labor partners with programs focused on safety, development of technical skills, and customer service and hospitality.

The 1,000 square-foot training facility underscores the continued commitment of the Center, facility manager ASM Global, and trade show labor partners to providing the highest level of service to customers and exhibitors.  It is an outgrowth of the Center’s Hospitality Industry Advancement Trust (HIAT) Fund, a partnership between the management of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the labor organizations responsible for providing show floor labor to the facility’s customers.

This joint initiative is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country. The HIAT Fund will support enhanced training opportunities focused in three general categories— “Safety, Skills, and Smiles.”

  • Safety programs will provide participants with opportunities to obtain general and specialized Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety certifications.
  • Skills training will be coordinated with contractors in the convention and meeting industry, such as installation & dismantle (I&D) and decorator companies to provide the workforce with the latest technical training so that the workforce can offer the most efficient and economical builds possible.
  • Hospitality 1.0 and 2.0 programs will focus on providing customers and guests with memory-making experiences that consistently exceed expectations through prioritizing customers, positive attitude and engagement, and a commitment to success.

“We are fortunate to have a team of labor partners that appreciate and understand the importance of delivering the best possible experience to our trade show, event, convention, and meeting customers,” says John McNichol, president & CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. “They are making a long-term commitment to ensuring the labor personnel who work in our facility not only have the latest safety and skills training, but also a high-level of hospitality-focused training. The partnership and cooperative relationship between management and our show floor labor workforce is remarkable and it’s having a real, substantive impact on the customer-experience.”

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PA Convention Center

With $78.8 million in capital investments over the past four years and a long-standing commitment to the customer experience, the PA Convention Center is ready to host your next event.

The PA Convention Center

Building Investments and Upgrades

The Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) has invested in numerous upgrades and initiatives aimed at reducing the building’s carbon footprint.

Enhance Labor Agreement at the PA Convention Center

In 2019, the Pennsylvania Convention Center announced a progressive expansion to exhibitor rights to provide a more cost-effective and efficient customer experience.