Posts Tagged ‘Penn College’

National Science Foundation gives funds to Pennsylvania College of Technology.

By Andrew M. Sederaseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $294,689 grant to Pennsylvania College of Technology to be used for educating and training high school students for careers in the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry.

According to a release from U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, the award is the first in a continuing $882,134 grant that the foundation anticipates awarding to the Williamsport-based college over the next three years. It will provide funding to develop state-of-the-art, college-level curriculum for many of the nearly 150 occupations related to natural gas extraction.

“The Marcellus Shale formation represents a tremendous opportunity for job growth in clean-energy technology,” said Carney, D-Dimock Township. “This grant from the NSF will help the residents of our region cultivate the skills necessary to work at the forefront of the industry, and on one of the most significant natural resource reservoirs in the nation.”

The courses primarily target secondary students from 23 school districts in central and northern Pennsylvania seeking a head start on college credit through dual-enrollment programs.

“These students will be able to take courses in high school and start college with some credits under their belts,” said Larry Michael, the executive director for work force and economic development at Pennsylvania College of Technology. “The program provides educational pathways for high school students to make a smoother transition and have a leg up for careers in development of the Marcellus Shale.”

Lackawanna College also offers Marcellus Shale-related course offerings, many at its New Milford campus in Susquehanna County. The college was not in the running for funding from the NSF, said Larry Milliken, Natural Gas Technology Program director at Lackawanna College. He said those kinds of grants often go to research facilities, like Penn College.

Lackawanna College has received some funding recently for its gas education program.

Chesapeake Energy, which is one of the major gas drillers operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, made a $50,000 donation to Lackawanna College to be used for equipment in training students enrolled in the Gas Tech Program.

Andrew M. Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7269.

Copyright: Times Leader

Needs assessment says most workers would be general laborers with basic skills.

By Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

As the natural-gas drilling industry ramps up in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, it could employ perhaps 13,000 workers by 2012, the vast majority of them general laborers with basic skill sets, according to a needs assessment released last week by the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center.

“There’s going to be a significant amount of folks needed across many occupations, but the bulk of the activity when it’s in the drilling phase – up to 75 percent – is going to require some entry level of the industry, but not necessarily a degree, which is a good opportunity for most folks who are displaced … by the economy,” said Jeff Lorson, an industrial technology specialist at Penn College in Williamsport.

The report focuses on the 13 counties in the Northern Tier and Central regions of the state Workforce Investment Board, but Lorson noted that the report assessed only direct employment by the industry, so jobs created in other industries to serve or support the drilling industry would raise the number.

The 13 counties do not include Luzerne, but do include all those on its western and northern borders: Wyoming, Sullivan and Columbia.

The report made “low,” “likely” and “high” estimates for positions in three phases: pre-drilling, drilling and production.

The vast majority would be needed in the pre-drilling and drilling phases, in which jobs are short-term and require regular relocation but limited skills. The assessment found that each well drilled would require “more than 410 individuals working within nearly 150 different occupations,” the total hours worked by them equaling about 11.53 full-time workers. The number of workers is linked to the number of wells drilled, however, so it would be reduced whenever the industry contracts.

A much smaller number of jobs would be required for production, but those jobs would be long-term and require more-specific skills. It would take about six wells to create one of these jobs, the assessment reports, but the jobs compile, so new jobs are being created over the years whenever wells are drilled.

Using a multiplier created by the Pennsylvania Economy League, the report suggests that nearly 20,000 non-industry jobs would be created by industry activities in the Northern Tier and Central regions.

Penn College is using the report’s results to refine its educational offerings through the shale training center. It will begin a “roustabout” program, Lorson said, that will provide general industry knowledge, occupational safety training and environmental awareness.

“They have a real feeling in the industry to start at the bottom and work their way up,” he said.

The report’s results jibe with the industry’s own assessment in 2006, according to Stephen Rhoads, the president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association. “They’re finding out what we’ve already known,” he said, adding that the industry is talking about setting up a statewide education program in high schools, vocational schools and higher-education institutions to prepare basic workers but also provide the education needed for advancement.

He pointed to a program in place at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in which rig workers take night classes to earn an associate’s degree needed for jobs to assist geologists and engineers.

“Many of the jobs in the industry that are in highest demand are people who man the drilling rigs and well servicing crews and people” who manage well sites, he said. “They don’t require advanced degrees. You need a good worth ethic, a high school diploma, and in many cases you have to be able to qualify for a driver’s license.”

TO LEARN MORE

To find the report, go to: www.pct.edu/msetc and look for the “Needs Assessment” link about halfway down the page.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

Copyright: Times Leader

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