Bridging the gap: Forum connects schools with businesses to fill jobs
Karen Mansfield
Karen Mansfield
Aaron Shenck, executive director of Mid-Atlantic Association of Career Schools, left, participated in the SWPA Skills Gap Forum on Tuesday, which included local business leaders, from left, Gary Flannery of Washington Auto Mall; Barbara McCullough of Washington Health System; Brittany Bennett of ABARTA Coca-Cola; Stephan Szabo of Stephan Szabo Salon; and Nicole Lane of Penn Commercial.
Karen Mansfield
Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, left, moderated the SWPA Skills Gap Forum Tuesday in Bridgeville. Seated from left are panelists Ryan Bandel of Lighthouse Electric, Kara Peterson of Range Resources, Lisa Neil of Southwest Training Services, Scott Armstrong of Allegheny Technologies Inc., and Will Thomeier of the Chamber of Commerce.
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Much like companies across all sectors in the United States, local businesses are struggling to find skilled, non-college workers to fill jobs.
鈥淲e have 170 employees, and we are at this time 22 people short. We could add 22 positions right now,鈥� said Gary Flannery, general manager of Washington Auto Mall.
Flannery was one of about a dozen local business leaders who served as panelists at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Skills Gap Forum, held at BizTown at the Junior Achievement of Southwestern Pennsylvania headquarters in Bridgeville.
The forum鈥檚 objective was to connect superintendents from regional school districts with local business leaders to explore the widening gap between Southwestern Pennsylvania employers and skilled workers, and how schools, businesses and public organizations can partner to attract and train high school students 鈥� the next generation of workers.
During the event, business leaders shared the challenges their companies are facing as the work shortage become more acute for blue-collar workers.
The forum was a collaboration between the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement, Penn Commercial Business and Technical School, Southwest Training Services Inc., and Washington Greene County Job Training Agency Inc.
Amy Gatts, director of Southwest Corner Workforce Development Board, told attendees that many of the region鈥檚 most in-demand occupations are skilled positions, but the pool of workers is not filling those needs because of, among other things, skilled workers aging out of the workforce.
鈥淲e have a 鈥榮ilver tsunami,鈥� as we speak. People are leaving the workforce and there鈥檚 not enough people coming in,鈥� said Gatts, who stressed the importance of connecting high schools with local employers.
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) in Washington, which has more than 70 job openings, has felt the impact.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real challenge right now,鈥� said Scott Armstrong. 鈥淭he number of people retiring over the last five to 10 years is big.鈥�
Nicole Lane, campus director at Penn Commercial in Washington County, which offers 13 programs in trades and technical careers, said the school is regularly contacted by employers seeking candidates for positions in fields ranging from HVAC and welding to phlebotomy and cosmetology, but there aren鈥檛 enough workers to fill the demand.
鈥淲e have companies contacting us all the time to recruit, but we don鈥檛 have enough students to place because they鈥檙e all placed. We have a 100% placement rate for HVAC program for the next two years. HVAC companies are calling us for graduates; we don鈥檛 have anybody to send them,鈥� said Lane. 鈥淔or electricians right now, it鈥檚 booming.鈥�
Students in the 12-week phlebotomy program are being hired as soon as they take their certification exam, Lane said. Graduates of the six-week CDL training program, too, are immediately stepping into jobs and employers are paying bonuses that cover the cost of the program.
Two factors contributing to the dearth of skilled workers, superintendents and employers say, are the perception that jobs in the trades are inferior to those that require a college degree 鈥� what Mike Rowe, host of the show, 鈥淪omebody鈥檚 Gotta Do It,鈥� calls 鈥渟ome kind of vocational consolation prize鈥� 鈥� and high school students aren鈥檛 aware of the skilled trades careers available.
Said Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, 鈥淭here is a perception that if you鈥檙e smart you go to college and if you鈥檙e not you go to some vocational school, and that鈥檚 incorrect. That鈥檚 the perception that we have to start changing, both as educators and as business leaders.鈥�
Part of the message employers wanted to convey is that these aren鈥檛 the low-paying, 鈥済et-your-hands-dirty鈥� blue collar jobs blue-collar jobs as in years past.
鈥淥ne thing about technicians that鈥檚 changed tremendously is the old image of a grease monkey. That鈥檚 gone,鈥� said Flannery, noting that auto technicians need to stay on top of their skills as technology advances.
He noted several of the company鈥檚 technicians earn six-figure salaries.
鈥�(Technicians) make plenty of money to be able to raise a family; they can live comfortably and enjoy a good life,鈥� Flannery said.
Erikka Storch, executive director of Project BEST, a construction industry labor-management organization, said it鈥檚 important 鈥渢o change the narrative鈥� and to encourage high school students to explore trades.
While the 鈥淎merican dream鈥� long has been viewed as graduating from a four-year college, the trades are increasingly becoming an option as the cost of a college education continues to far outpace incomes for workers with bachelor鈥檚 degrees.
Over the past 25 years, for example, the cost of tuition at Penn State University has increased 250%, while the median income of a college graduate has increased 47%, as college student loan debt has surpassed $1.75 billion, according to Forbes.
Fred Morecraft, superintendent of Carmichaels Area School District in Greene County, said school districts are working to create more career pathways for students.
鈥淚 thinks schools are getting better at that. One of the things we鈥檙e pushing is that not every kid goes to college, and that鈥檚 OK,鈥� said Morecraft.
Increasingly, companies facing skilled worker shortages are training their own new labor pools.
ABARTA Coca-Cola Beverages, which employs 350 workers at its Houston location, has had difficulty filling CDLA driver positions, so it pays for CDLA training for employees 鈥� part of the 鈥渆arn-and-learn鈥� apprenticeship model adopted by a growing number companies.
鈥淥ver the past few years, we鈥檝e seen skills gaps coming into play in a lot of positions,鈥� said Brittany Bennett, Human Resources director at ABARTA, noting how computerized beverage machines have become.
As part of the earn-and-learn philosophy, high school graduates who are hired at ABARTA can earn $18 an hour and train for higher-paying positions.
鈥淲e love the (Coca-Cola) brand, and we鈥檇 love to grow Coca-Cola for generations to come. We definitely know the high school students who are currently waiting for jobs are the perfect pipeline for us to be able to do that,鈥� Bennett told superintendents. 鈥淲e have a lot of opportunities 鈥� and we absolutely want to be able to work with you to find spots for individuals.鈥�
It has been a challenge, too, for Washington Health System, to hire and retain staff because of a shortage of qualified candidates in the area.
The health system, which employs about 2,000 workers, has about 260 open positions.
That鈥檚 鈥渦nheard of鈥� for Washington Health System, said Barbara McCullough, vice president of human resources at WHS, where at one time employees accepted part-time positions while waiting for a full-time position to open.
鈥淥ur difficulty in filling positions runs the gamut,鈥� said McCullough. 鈥淭here is no doubt in health care I can find a job for every student you have, and make them feel successful and productive.鈥�
She said most entry-level positions pay more than $16 an hour, and offer overtime, shift differentials and an excellent benefit package.
The hospital has developed 鈥渆arn-to-learn鈥� phlebotomy-in-training and medical assistant-in-training programs, and offers 100% tuition coverage for employees to attend WHS School of Nursing.
鈥淚 will pay 100% for people to go to nursing school and they will come out earning $30 an hour, plus shift differential, plus overtime, and not have a single student loan. Which one of you wouldn鈥檛 take that deal?鈥� asked McCullough, earning appreciative laughs from the audience. 鈥淚 have lots of deals like that. I鈥檓 ready to make a deal.鈥�