What Upper Bucks County Technical School does

Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS) is a public career and technical education (CTE) institution located at 3115 Ridge Road, Perkasie, Pennsylvania, serving high school students from three sending districts: Palisades School District, Pennridge School District, and Quakertown Community School District. Governed by a Joint Operating Committee (JOC) composed of representatives from those districts, the school operates 23 distinct technical programs organized into seven career clusters (Computer Science, Construction, Transportation, Human Services, Agriculture/Life & Health Services, Advanced Manufacturing, and Arts & Creative Design), including Welding & Fabrication, Automotive Technology, Mechatronics, Machining & Engineering Technologies, Health Care Careers, Dental Careers, Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry Arts, Cosmetology, Veterinary Assisting, Law Enforcement, and Construction Technology. The school's underlying instructional model combines classroom-based technical training with industry-recognized certifications (AWS, NIMS Level 1, ASE, EPA 608, OSHA 10, ACSM, DANB, PrintED, Adobe, FAA TRUST) and a robust experiential layer.

UBCTS's business model is primarily public funding-driven: tuition for member-district students is paid by the sending school districts and supplemented by Pennsylvania state education funding, with no direct cost to families. The school augments this core revenue stream with community-facing student-operated businesses—The Rockridge Restaurant, Rise on the Ridge Bakery, Cosmetology Clinic, Dog Daycare and Kennels, and the UBCTS Food Truck—which serve paying external customers while providing hands-on training environments. Its employer network of more than 110 local partners (spanning automotive dealers, healthcare providers, manufacturers, electrical contractors, and senior-living operators) supports a School-to-Work co-op program that, for the Class of 2026, generated $1,051,517 in real-world wages for 132 students across 67,796+ hours of daytime employment. The school also extends its offering through a Career Launch Program for adult learners and articulation agreements with postsecondary institutions such as Bucks County Community College, where students can earn up to 35 credits while still enrolled in high school. Go-to-market is effectively enrollment-based via the three sending districts, supported by an application portal, SuperStrong Interest Inventory career assessment, career counseling services, and a Facebook-driven organic social channel.

Leadership is anchored by Executive Director Dr. Michael Herrera, JOC Chairman Joe Lyons, and Assistant Director Stacy Pakula, with program-area instructors and four Special Education staff coordinating inclusion across programs. The institution is not a venture-backed entity; it has no disclosed funding rounds, ownership changes, or M&A activity, and its strategic posture is incremental program and partnership expansion within a structurally bounded public-sector mandate.

Name

Upper Bucks County Technical School

Legal name

Upper Bucks County Technical School

Website

https://ubtech.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Upper Bucks County Technical School is a public career and technical education high school in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, serving students from three sending districts with 23 technical programs, industry certifications, a 110+ employer partner network, and student-operated community businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career and Technical Education (Vocational Education)

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Community Colleges (Applied/CTE-Focused) (EDAHADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workforce Development & Continuing Education Divisions (Noncredit) (EDAHADAG)

Keywords

• Career and technical education
• Vocational training programs
• High school CTE
• Hands-on trade education
• School-to-work programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Perkasie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public School District Funding: Funded through sending school districts (Palisades, Pennridge, Quakertown) and Pennsylvania state education funding. Students from member districts attend at no direct cost to families.
2. Community Service Programs: Revenue from community-facing services including Cosmetology Clinic, Rise on the Ridge Bakery, The Rockridge Restaurant, Dog Daycare and Kennels, and UBCTS Food Truck operated by students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UBCTS is a public career and technical education high school delivering 23+ hands-on vocational programs across seven career clusters, including Automotive Technology, Welding & Fabrication, Mechatronics, Health Care Careers, Culinary Arts, Veterinary Assisting, Law Enforcement, Computer Networking & Cybersecurity, Construction, Cosmetology, and Graphic Communications. Students earn industry certifications (AWS, NIMS, ASE, EPA 608, OSHA), college articulation credits, and real-world wages through co-op placements with 110+ local employer partners, supplemented by experiential learning at student-operated community businesses including a restaurant, bakery, cosmetology clinic, dog daycare, and food truck.

Product overview

Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS) is a Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school offering a comprehensive portfolio of vocational programs across seven career clusters: Computer Science, Construction, Transportation, Human Services, Agriculture/Life & Health Services, Advanced Manufacturing, and Arts & Creative Design. The school operates 23 distinct technical programs including Automotive Technology, Welding & Fabrication, Mechatronics, Health Care Careers, Culinary Arts, Veterinary Assisting, and Law Enforcement, among others. Beyond classroom instruction, UBCTS provides experiential learning through community-facing businesses including The Rockridge Restaurant, Cosmetology Clinic, Rise on the Ridge Bakery, Dog Daycare and Kennels, and the UBCTS Food Truck. The school also facilitates work-based learning through its School to Work (Co-op) Program and Career Launch Program, connecting students with over 110 local employer partners. UBCTS offers industry certifications and college articulation agreements with multiple institutions for postsecondary credit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agricultural Technology & Life Sciences Academy
• Auto Collision Technology
• Automotive Technology
• Baking & Pastry Arts
• Career Launch Program
• Carpentry
• Computer Networking & Cybersecurity
• Construction Technology
• Cosmetology
• Culinary Arts
• Dental Careers
• Diesel Technology
• Electrical Technology
• Exercise Science & Sports Technology
• Graphic Communications
• Health Care Careers
• HVAC-R
• Law Enforcement - Police Science
• Machining & Engineering Technologies
• Mechatronics
• Small Engine Technology
• Veterinary Assisting
• Welding & Fabrication Technology
• School to Work Program (Co-op)
• Technical Entrepreneurship Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Class of 2026 generated $1,051,517 in real-world wages through school-to-work program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• C&L Rivet Company, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvanced Manufacturing employer partner providing work-based learning and employment opportunities for students in machining and manufacturing programs.
• Heritage Truck Equipment, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvanced Manufacturing employer partner providing training and career pathways for students.
• Bergey's ChevroletcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAuto Technology and Auto Collision employer partner providing internships and employment for automotive students.
• Thompson LexusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAuto Technology employer partner offering career opportunities for trained automotive technicians.
• Peter Becker CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth Services employer partner providing clinical and cooperative education opportunities for healthcare students.
• Neshaminy Manor Long Term Care FacilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth Services employer partner offering work experience for healthcare career students.
• Bank Engineering Systems GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectrical & HVAC employer partner providing training and employment opportunities for electrical technology students.
• J&M Electrical, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectrical & HVAC employer partner offering career pathways for electrical technology graduates.
• Ann's Choice by Erickson Senior LivingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCulinary and Baking employer partner providing training experiences for culinary arts students.
• Bucks County Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege articulation partner allowing students to earn up to 35 credits toward degrees in welding and other technical fields through Technical Entrepreneurship Program.
• Palisades High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSending district high school providing students to UBCTS programs; Special Education case managers coordinate with UBCTS staff for student support.
• Pennridge High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSending district high school providing students to UBCTS programs; Special Education case managers coordinate with UBCTS staff for student support.
• Quakertown Community High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSending district high school providing students to UBCTS programs; Special Education case managers coordinate with UBCTS staff for student support.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lincoln Tech: National for-profit career training institution with a broad multi-state footprint covering automotive, HVAC, healthcare, and skilled trades; an established alternative pathway to the same careers UBCTS programs prepare students for.
• Universal Technical Institute: National for-profit provider of technical training in automotive, diesel, welding, HVAC, and industrial trades with multiple campuses; competes for the same skilled-trade student demographic and employer hiring relationships at scale.

Direct peers

• Central Montco Technical High School: Public Pennsylvania technical high school operated as a joint agreement between multiple sending school districts, offering similar CTE programs and articulation pathways to postsecondary education.
• Western Montgomery Career & Technology Center: PA career and technology center serving multiple sending districts with overlapping program offerings in skilled trades, healthcare, and culinary arts; similar governance and public funding model.
• Lancaster County Career & Technology Center: Pennsylvania career and technology center with multiple campuses serving sending districts, offering a comparable portfolio of technical programs and industry-recognized certifications.
• Middle Bucks Institute of Technology: Public career and technical education high school serving multiple Bucks County, PA sending districts with a similar portfolio of trade programs and employer partnership model. Operates under nearly identical Joint Operating Committee governance structure in the same county.
• Eastern Center for Arts and Technology: PA career and technical education school serving eastern Montgomery County sending districts with comparable CTE program breadth, employer partnership model, and student-operated community businesses.

Regional players

• Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology: Pennsylvania public two-year technical college offering associate degrees in skilled trades, computer technology, and healthcare; complements UBCTS's high-school pipeline by serving its graduates seeking advanced postsecondary technical credentials.

Others

• Bucks County Community College: Primary articulation partner enabling UBCTS students to earn up to 35 postsecondary credits; a regional postsecondary institution offering overlapping CTE programs and serving as the dominant higher-education pathway for UBCTS graduates.

Emerging players

• Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades: Pennsylvania-based tuition-free trade school offering postsecondary training in machining, welding, carpentry, and HVAC — adjacent specialty competitor drawing motivated students seeking skilled-trades careers with full scholarships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UpperBucksTech
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLu-a9EUHq4ngJHa8ohukEIqg36CvoRRxO
• Facebookfacebook.com/UpperBucksTech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upper-bucks-county-technical-school

Compliance42 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Upper Bucks County Technical School