Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty | Gov. Tom Corbett speaks. At the Reading Area Community College (RACC) in Reading Wednesday afternoon where PA Governor Tom Corbett and PA Labor and Industry Secretary Julia Hearthway were participating in a panel discussion Delivering the Workforce Necessary for the 21st Century on Wednesday April 16, 2014. Photo

The article is from The Reading Eagle-By Liam Migdail-Smith
April 7, 2014

In Reading visit, Corbett links better job training to an economic revival

You wouldn't get the sense that Pennsylvania has a 6.2 percent unemployment rate looking at the state's online job-search database, Gov. Tom Corbett said at Reading Area Community College Wednesday.

Speaking to a small group of education, business and political leaders, the governor noted that the JobGateway site lists more than 200,000 open positions.

The problem, Corbett said, is there's a mismatch between the skills those employers are seeking and the training those looking for work possess.

"There are good, family-sustaining jobs out there that we need to get filled here in Pennsylvania," he said.
Job-training programs, such as RACC's, will be the key to getting workers ready to take those positions and start reducing the number of unemployed, Corbett said. They also play a big role in building a workforce that makes companies want to come to Pennsylvania, he said.
Ultimately, he said, that could mean the state's economic recovery.
"We know we have a clear path of how to get there," Corbett said.
Corbett, along with state labor Secretary Julia K. Hearthway, visited the college's Schmidt Training and Technology Center to participate in a panel discussion about workforce development. He touted the jobs database and the importance of those training programs.
Other panelists, a collection of business and education leaders, talked about the need to match workforce training with what businesses are looking for.
Workers who operate and maintain today's manufacturing equipment have to tinker more with complex computer programs than with a wrench, said Robert Harrop, vice president of East Penn Manufacturing near Lyons.
"We are having a difficult time finding the people out there with that specific skill set," he said.
David Niemkiewicz, technical supervisor of Bayer HealthCare's production facility in Myerstown, said he's facing similar challenges.
"The competition for the best talent is growing and companies are just pulling from each other," he said. "There's a lot of openings out there but we need to find the people with the right skills to fill those holes."
RACC has customized its programs to make sure the skills students are leaving with fit the jobs that are available in the area, said Bonnie Spayd, director of the Schmidt center. That's happened through working with businesses, such as East Penn and Bayer, she said.
RACC and officials from Bloomsburg University and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education also discussed a new program that will allow students to work on a Bloomsburg bachelor's degree while at RACC.
That technical, lab-based education is important to filling the jobs that are available, Hearthway said.
"It's this hands-on practical skill set that a lot of our youth and our labor force need," she said.
Corbett's 2014-15 budget proposal would keep funding for community colleges level with the last three years.
The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges has criticized that plan, saying that without more funding, schools may have to increase tuition and won't be able to make all the investments they need to in workforce development programs.
Corbett alluded to the funding debate during his remarks Thursday, saying that colleges can ramp up training programs by using the funding they have in different ways. But he said after the panel discussion that a stronger economy could give the state more money to put into those training programs.
"As we're able to grow the economy, we might be able to respond better to that," he said.
He also responded to criticism over cuts to education funding during his term, saying that reductions were due to one-time federal money that had been used to fund programs going away.
The Schmidt center is getting some attention in the race for governor. Tom Wolf, a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, visited the Schmidt center last month.
Contact Liam Migdail-Smith: 610-371-5022 or lsmith@readingeagle.com.

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Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty | Gov. Tom Corbett speaks.