A Pipeline of Skilled Workers

Western Pennsylvania needs newer, more robust approaches to education, training and hiring

Pittsburgh Post Gazette
STACEY OLSON
MAR 25, 2017

The Tri-State area is undergoing an exciting period of growth and opportunity. Over the next decade, the region’s workforce will be entirely transformed by a wave of retirements, new growth and occupational transitions, creating multigenerational opportunities across industries.

To take full advantage, we need a pipeline of skilled workers who have the technical, academic and hands-on training needed to match this steady growth.

According to a recent Allegheny Conference on Community Development study, our region will need to fill 340,000 jobs over the next 10 years. These high-demand, well-paying careers cut across health care and information technology, as well as computer-controlled machine operators, industrial mechanics and engineers.

But the study also found that given this projected growth, we could face a shortage of 80,000 workers, and many of these jobs could go unfilled in the next decade simply because younger workers lack the necessary skills to immediately step into these positions.

From technology start-ups to advanced manufacturing and energy-related careers, it’s clear that our future workforce will need strong science, technology, engineering and math skills.

Another report, released by RAND Corporation this week, found STEM-related fields not only have the highest demand for new workers but also command the highest pay. The report goes on to note that even “a person in a non-technology job will still be expected to have technology knowledge.”

All of this data points to the need for newer, most robust approaches to education, training and hiring.

We must more effectively align labor demands with the education and skills needed to obtain those jobs. As employers, we must shift from being simply consumers of talent to becoming investors in the next generation of workers through enhancing and tailoring educational opportunities.

Stacey Olson is president of Chevron Appalachia, based in Coraopolis. She serves on the board of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the board of the Center for Responsible Shale Development.