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Removing barriers to workforce development in rural areas: It's not a single hurdle to clear, according to testimonials from experts in their fields of labor and industry, education and business in Williamsport and Lycoming County.
During a Senate hearing at Pennsylvania College of Technology, the lack of available broadband expansion and greater access to high-speed internet, child care costs soaring, plentiful jobs but nobody to fill them, students who become educated and leave the state for higher-paying jobs and a lack of available housing were considered some of the barriers which must come down before the state came move forward.
The Senate hearing to explore rural workforce challenges went for over two hours and featured a panel of experts in the education, labor and industry fields addressing the Senate Majority Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Dan Laughlin, who was joined by state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township.
The hearing covered: Vitality of Pennsylvania's Rural Communities; Workforce Demands and Opportunities; Rural Community Development and Housing Trends in Rural PA.
Laughlin said lifestyle differences in rural areas can be different than living in an urban area.
Nancy A. Walker, acting secretary for the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I), said the governor tasked the department to ensure there is a well-trained workforce that meets the needs of businesses today and into the future.
The challenges seen across the state include a tight labor market.
"In my lifetime, I have not seen such a tight labor market," Walker said.
The state has historic low unemployment and a significant number of jobs with too few people to fill them, she said.
The goal of Gov. Josh Shapiro is to bring workers to Pennsylvania and keep them here.
The state is seeing shortages where it never saw them before. Examples include in education, healthcare and construction and manufacturing.
The childcare costs are a barrier. There are places in Pennsylvania post-pandemic where there is no childcare available, Walker said.
In some areas, childcare is so cost-prohibitive with families with two children or more that two people must work outside the home because one salary is the same as the cost of childcare.
Specific to rural areas, the state is seeing transportation issues unlike urban areas where trains and subways, bus service and Uber and Lyft drivers are.
In rural communities, that isn't seen.
Another barrier is student debt, and the labor industry is trying to pair people with job skills to employers in need.
One of the ways to do that is to offer the option of learning a trade.
As for increasing employment, the department has gathered data from the unemployment compensation from stakeholders in the early days of Shapiro's administration.
L&I has begun to resolve some of the systemic issues that have plagued the unemployment compensation system for several years, she said.
"I can tell you we benefited greatly from the direct feedback of our stakeholders," Walker wrote.
With a goal of finding a well-trained workforce that is responsive to the needs of business and prepared for the jobs of the future, most communities face similar challenges.
"Preparing our workforce and our economy for the future will require us to build more systems that connect people with job skills -- but without the burden of crippling debt," Walker said.
Registered
apprenticeship
Apprenticeships offer workers the opportunity to obtain a set of in-demand skills while at the same time earning a paycheck. For employers, it is customizable education that builds the talent pool they need to be competitive in the market, Walker said.
For example, Shapiro's budget proposes $23.8 million for workforce training and apprenticeship programs, including ones aimed directly at improving Pennsylvania's broadband network.
Shapiro has expressed passionately importance of career education and opportunities for young people -- opportunities that don't always result in a four-year degree but are nonetheless vital to the state's success.
Students who are interested in the trades should have the chance to explore those options in high school, Walker noted.
The administration is investing in pre-apprenticeship and the Schools-To-Work program, she said.
"But we also want to go beyond apprenticeship for the traditional trades," Walker explained.
That is being done through creating non-traditional career pathways for those interested in nursing and teaching -- two professions with critical workforce shortages that affect rural communities in particular.
Finally, the state is working on more direct communication with employers, particularly larger ones who tend to sidestep CareerLink locations and go to for-profit online services when they are looking for talent.
Instead, the state wants CareerLink to be a one-stop shop for job seekers, to bring those large employers back into the fold.
"The worker shortage issue is not going to resolve quickly," Walker said. "Competition for labor is likely here to stay."
Responsive and
flexible employers
Dan Kuba, deputy secretary for Workforce Development, serves a role that puts him at the center of a very large network of local, regional and state-level organizations focused on preparing Pennsylvania's workforce for good jobs in an ever-changing economy.
Twenty-three years ago, Kuba said he was a veteran in Hazleton, looking for a fresh start.
Thanks to a state veteran representative who helped him find passion for serving Pennsylvania workers, he became a case manager in the PA CareerLink in Shamokin, which led him on a journey to where he is today.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to meeting the needs of Pennsylvania workers and employers, he said.
"We have to design programs that are targeted, deliberate and flexible," he said.
Moreover, the labor market and the overall economy change faster than anyone ever expects them to.
Compare that to 2008, when the competition for a job -- almost any job -- was fierce.
In 15 short years, that dynamic has flipped upside down.
Today, employers are competing fiercely for talent and workers have the opportunity to be selective about who they work for.
"Our workforce development system must be responsive to the reality of today -- and the possibilities of a very different tomorrow," Kuba said.