A show of force
If area manufacturers need help with hiring, workforce training, obtaining a loan for equipment or finding a new site for relocation, a panel discussion Friday among area workforce and economic development officials was proof employers don’t have to go far for answers.
The first-of-its-kind Southwest Corner Manufacturing Roundtable at Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe drew about 100 manufacturers from Washington, Greene and Beaver counties.
Sponsored by Ami Gatts, director of Southwest Corner Workforce Development Board and state Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane, the four-hour event showcased the sheer number of resources available to help manufacturers here work better, smarter and train their employees in new skills.
The roundtable comes at a time when the region is seeing a loss of jobs in the mining industry, as well as a downturn in the natural gas extraction industry that began last year and is continuing this year.
Moderated by former congressman Mark Critz, who now directs Pennsylvania Rural Development Council, representatives from six workforce development and five from economic development each gave a five-minute description of services they provide.
Some of the people acknowledged many of the programs they offer to help manufacturers get a leg up on hiring, training or increased production can be “an alphabet soup” of acronyms, but said companies shouldn’t be deterred from calling them.
“Economic development is an industry all unto itself,” said Mary Stollar, senior vice president of economic development for Washington County Chamber of Commerce.
While her organization offers assistance with everything from site location to tax-free financing for construction of buildings and equipment purchases, Stollar said the best approach, regardless of need, is to call and let the organization take it from there.
Gesturing to the other 10 panel members and noting their lengths of tenure, Don Chappel, director of Greene County Industrial Developments Inc., said, “All of us have been working together for 15-plus years.”
There also was representation from a private group, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, which provides grants in northern West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania that support economic development activities based on the region’s strengths in research, technology and advanced manufacturing.
Benedum Vice President Jim DeNova said there is often a disconnect among the business sector, secondary-technical education and K-12 education.
At some point, he said, company needs, workforce and technology education and changing skill requirements will need to be merged in order for the region to move forward.
But Chappel said at least one sector of the workforce – displaced miners – is capable of filling many current needs of manufacturers because of their desire to work and variety of skill levels they developed as miners.
“If you’re going to hire somebody, take a look at a former coal miner,” said Chappel, who worked as a miner before going into economic development.
His comments were echoed by Greene County Commissioner Blair Zimmerman, another former miner, who told the panel Greene is looking to diversify beyond mining.
“We’re an energy county,” Zimmerman said. “We need industry in Greene County.”
Robbie Matesic, Greene County’s economic development director, said earlier she applied for the federal Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization initiative, which aims to assist communities negatively affected by changes in the coal industry and power sector.
And despite the need for training to keep the area’s workforce up to date with the latest and most applicable technical skills, the road to providing them isn’t always easy, said Dr. Dennis McCarthy, director of Western Area Career and Technology Center.
WACTC, which provides career and technical courses for 500 secondary school students from nine area high schools, offers training for students and adults to earn a commercial driver’s license and has a new welding center with 38 booths for both students and adults.
WACTC successfully navigated all requirements to become licensed by the state to become a community college, only to later have it revoked.
The school planned to offer a two-year course related to manufacturing and another two-year course in welding, “but there was a disconnect, there was no support from business and industry, so we didn’t have students” for the college courses, McCarthy said. “We lost our license.”
The school is currently tabulating a survey it took this winter to determine the types of college courses that businesses here would support.
“We’re not done yet” with seeking to have the license reinstated, he said.
At the start of Friday’s program, keynote speaker Dennis Davin, state secretary of economic development, said he’s been promoting Pennsylvania as the best place for companies to do business.
There are 6.4 million people in Pennsylvania’s labor force, Davin said, but many are older, particularly those working in manufacturing.
“The real challenge is to educate our next workforce, not just after high school, but in grade school and high school,” Davin said.