In anticipation of large-scale natural gas drilling and a massive influx of related jobs to the region, Pennsylvania College of Technology and Penn State Cooperative Extension are collaborating to form the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center.
“Starting in January, we will work with the drilling, pipeline and service companies to determine how many workers of each type they will need. Then in the spring, whatever the numbers are, we’ll look at the existing workforce and see what training programs we need to put in place at the high school and college levels to make that happen,” says Larry Michael, Executive Director of Workforce and Economic Development at Penn College.
“The concern is, do we have the workforce training programs that are required for something like this?”
More than half a dozen companies, including drilling, pipeline and service network companies, have agreed to participate in a workforce needs assessment, according to Michael. He hopes to have about 20 companies on board by the end of the year.
Natural gas exploration has escalated dramatically this year in central Pennsylvania and the industry is moving quickly. Central Pennsylvania is located in the heart of the Marcellus Shale play, and observers are predicting major economic growth in the coming years.
“If we look at what has happened in other regions of the country, the impact on the workforce and the population is significant–very significant,” says Michael. “It will be in the thousands.”
Although he’s heard estimates that some counties in central Pennsylvania will see a 30 percent increase in population, Michael is quick to say such speculation should be taken with a grain of salt.
“One of the misperceptions is that this thing is here and is here now,” he says. “The reality is that it’s here, but it will take a couple of years for it to really ramp up. The center is trying to be prepared so that we have the training and workforce programs in place when this thing hits.”
Source: Larry Michael, Executive Director of Workforce and Economic Development at Penn College
Writer: John Davidson
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