Posts Tagged ‘heavy machinery operation’

College in Williamsport preparing workers

By Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

WILLIAMSPORT – Like many of his classmates, Mike Harris already has a job in electricity-generation lined up for when he graduates this spring.

The only problem is it will require the Dalton native to relocate to Illinois.

Soon enough, though, future students in these same welding classes at Pennsylvania College of Technology could be in a curriculum that funnels them into local jobs with natural gas drillers working in the Marcellus Shale region.

The Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center at the college is in its early infancy, only envisioned late last year and opened earlier this year, but plans are for it to expand quickly.

A collaboration with the Penn State Cooperative Extension, the center will identify the industry’s work force needs and respond with education tracks that train people for those jobs, said Jeffrey Lorson, an industrial technology specialist at the college who’s running the training center.

“With the escalation and the things with the Marcellus, there was clearly a need in the work force,” he said. “We knew we had a tremendous fit to support the industry.”

The jobs are certainly here, Harris said, and there aren’t enough local workers. “They can’t find anybody,” he said about drillers.

Lorson’s family has a motel in Bainbridge, N.Y., near Binghamton, and the place is constantly packed. “There’s guys coming from all over the place” to work for the drilling companies, he said.

He felt Penn College graduates would be “competitive” for jobs in the industry, which could feed off the college for workers in fields from welding to heavy machinery operation.

“The center has the potential to provide very meaningful training options for local residents,” said Stephen Rhoads, the president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association. Certain skills, such as building and maintaining infrastructure and inspecting gauges and other moveable parts, “are all skills that could very easily find a home up in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” he said.

“If the industry grows as we expect it to, there will be long-term career opportunities.”

While he plans to enjoy traveling while starting his career, Harris said he’s looking ahead to hometown job security.

“I feel very confident, and I’d love to stay in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but right now as things are starting to take off, I think it’s easier for me to leave and get some experience,” he said.

The center could also help students outline career paths, an idea Harris has already considered. He’s planning to become certified in visual inspections.

“It keeps me out in the field, but it’s managerial,” he said. “You’re in the middle, which is pretty much where I wouldn’t mind being.”

See more photos of the Pennsylvania College of Technology Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center at www.timesleader.com.

Copyright: Times Leader