Forecasts from one study say that natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation will be responsible for 111,000 jobs in Pennsylvania by the end of this year. But as people who live in northern, central and western PA can tell by looking at license plates in their communities, plenty of those jobs are now being done by workers from heavy drilling states like Oklahoma and Texas.
Dr. Bill Hallock, chairman of the applied technology department at Clarion University-Venango Campus, says that if more Pennsylvania residents were trained for natural-gas jobs, energy companies could hire them rather than importing workers from the country’s midsection and putting them up in hotels. That’s why the Clarion University campus in Oil City is launching a new associate’s degree program in natural gas technology.
The first classes in the program will start in June and will run through December 2012 without a summer break. That means students will be able to earn their degrees in 19 months rather than two years. Chances are they’ll be able to land jobs right away, starting at $20 per hour.
“These guys can make some serious money if they’re willing to work,” Hallock says.
While developing the program, Clarion worked with the Precision Manufacturing Institute, a Meadville school that teaches skills for manufacturing.
Since the program at Clarion’s Venango Campus combines practical and academic coursework, Hallock says they’ll be prepared to move up to supervisory jobs as they gain experience in the field.
Source: Dr. Bill Hallock, Clarion University
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen