Marcellus Shale Youth Jobs Forum recruit high school students for industry jobs
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State Rep. Brandon Neuman passes out information to Washington County high school guidance counselors at the Marcellus Shale gas industry jobs forum at the Western Area Career and Technology Center in Chartiers. Mr. Neuman sponsored the event. -
Michelle Buczkowski of Consol Energy gives an overview of her company's projected employment. -
Washington County high school guidance counselors are brought up to date on the employment needs of the Marcellus Shale gas industry at a jobs forum Thursday at the Western Area Career and Technology Center in Chartiers.
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More than 1,200 new Marcellus Shale natural gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania this year. Because each well requires numerous workers to construct and operate, there's no shortage of new jobs in the region -- at least a certain kind of job.
The problem is that not enough high school graduates from Southwestern Pennsylvania want the jobs, allowing workers from the nation's oil-rich South to capitalize on the Keystone state's bustling new industry.
State Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane, hopes to change that, in part by reaching out to the guidance counselors who have a role in helping students plan their futures.
Mr. Neuman hosted a Youth Jobs Forum at the Western Area Career and Technology Center in Chartiers on Thursday to bring together high school guidance counselors, training service programs, trade schools and representatives from the gas and oil industry. His goal is to help bridge the gap between high school graduates who don't plan to go to college and what he considers "family sustaining careers" that drilling in the Marcellus Shale has brought to the region.
"I've talked to a lot of grandparents who are upset that their grandchildren have to move to find a job," he said. "We want to change that perception. We want to make sure that the jobs in Washington County go to people who live in Washington County, or at least Pennsylvania."
But guidance counselors say the jobs are a hard sell to high school students.
At Washington High School in Washington, Pa., about half of the 100 or so students that graduate each year are bound for a four-year university, said counselor Marie Montecalvo.
That may not be the best choice for all of them. Many students end up dropping out or watching their loans pile up as they jump from one major to the next.
Yet it's difficult for a guidance counselor to suggest they skip college and head straight into a labor-intensive career path, something that many parents who worked in the steel industry want their children to avoid.
"We don't want to be perceived as squelching their dreams," Ms. Montecalvo said.
And among the kids who don't pursue college, counselors said some families depend on the immediate income that their children bring in from fast-food or other entry-level jobs and can't afford to send them off for training.
Another barrier is the perception of oil and gas jobs as risky and dangerous. Although many jobs, like mining and drilling, can be hazardous, not all of the industry's workers are handling heavy machinery or otherwise taking on risk.
First Published October 21, 2011 12:13 am
