Separated by a 3-hour drive, two events on Tuesday led by state leaders on either side of the aisle were singularly focused on the value of education and workforce development, with particular emphasis on skilled labor and trades.
The Pennsylvania Senate’s Republican Majority Policy Committee hosted a hearing at Lycoming College in Williamsport in which they sought input from educators and industry professionals to better prepare students and adults seeking career alternatives for the future workforce, continually influenced by automation and artificial intelligence.
In Philadelphia, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and members of his administration met with teachers and administrators of The Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School to discuss and promote career pathways for city students into the skilled trades.
The attention paid to workforce development, while not new, comes as the tech industry hones in on Pennsylvania for the creation of data centers to support cloud computing and the exponential growth of artificial intelligence.
Amazon announced a $20 billion investment this summer to build two data center complexes in Pennsylvania, one near Berwick, Luzerne County, and another north of Philadelphia. Another project is planned for Microsoft at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant south of Harrisburg, while further west, developers look to turn the former coal-fired power plant in Homer City, Indiana County, into a data center campus powered with natural gas.
Pennsylvania is swiftly aging and its projected population growth is near stagnant. John Yudichak, president of Luzerne County Community College and a former state senator, said the commonwealth’s workforce is estimated to be short by 218,000 workers by 2032.
Citing the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, state Rep. David Rowe, R-Snyder/Union/Mifflin/Juniata, said the 66 people available per 100 jobs puts Pennsylvania in a “dire situation.”
Aaron Riggleman, manager of government affairs with the PA Chamber, said the lack of workers is not only a major deterrent to companies relocating to Pennsylvania but also is a deterrent to existing firms wishing to expand within the commonwealth. When it comes to educating workers, he said higher education institutions must focus on relevance, adaptability and connection with industry.
“Programs have to match what the economy actually needs. Employers don’t want degrees, they want skills that translate to the workforce,” Riggleman said, adding that “durable skills” like teamwork and problem solving are as important as learning new skills. “These are the skills that make employees resilient in the future workforce.”
Ron Cole, president of Allegheny College in Meadville, Crawford County, spoke of the place independent colleges hold in Pennsylvania, noting that 69% of nursing degrees and 58% of graduates in STEM fields graduate from an independent college. At Allegheny, he said, there is a new emphasis on emerging technology with the implementation of a full curriculum of stackable micro-credentials for entry-point training for adult learners and upscaling existing workers.
Yudichak told of a LCCC program that develops teachers with an aim to retain them in northeast Pennsylvania, as well as micro-credential courses, apprenticeships and new health science programming done in tandem with regional hospitals.
William desRosiers, government and external affairs manager with Coterra Energy, stressed how the energy company has reached nearly $10 million in annual educational tax credit investments directed largely toward dual enrollment and workforce development. He said the company funded 800 scholarships last year.
“Much of the scholarship funding goes to paying the out-of-pocket costs students have to incur to participate in career and technical education,” desRosiers said, citing the costs for welding kits, cosmetology kits and achieving certification.
Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Bradford/Lycoming/Sullivan//Tioga/Union, said work in computer coding was the future not long ago, but is now on the verge of being largely obsolete due to AI. However, he said the workforce will always need plumbers, welders and the like. And, he said, energy development will be key to Pennsylvania’s economic future.
“My philosophy is that everything depends on energy. With energy, you can build an economy. With an economy, you can deal with the environment,” Yaw said. “If we don’t have energy, we’re not going to have the economy that everybody is talking about, and I don’t care what it is.”
During the Philadelphia event, Shapiro reminded attendees that he signed an order early in 2023 to remove degree requirements for most state government jobs, with 61% of new hires not holding a degree. He touted the added investments in public education and apprenticeship opportunities since his term began, adding that military, college, and trades are all respectable pathways to employment.
“We want to make sure that every single student knows that those pathways are open to them,” Shapiro said.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker stressed that career and technical education is a priority in Philadelphia. She noted last week’s visit by the Republic of Korea President Lee Jae Myung to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and growing investments in shipping.
“There is great opportunity growing here in the City of Philadelphia and everybody’s going to be shocked when I say it because no one’s expecting this industry to grow in the city: the maritime industry,” Parker said, adding that she’ll be reaching out to industry and union leaders about building on industry needs through workforce development.
“That is what we want education to do; a solid foundation to help put people on a path to self-sufficiency,” Parker said, noting the family sustaining earnings for welders, for example.