With Marcellus shale natural gas development expanding employment opportunities, Pennsylvania residents will need to be prepared for the issues surrounding any potential job surge, according to workforce specialists with Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
"Marcellus shale gas development has the potential to have a major impact on businesses, employment and workforce development in many areas of Pennsylvania," said James Ladlee, Clinton County director for Penn State Cooperative Extension. "Communities will need to be prepared for significant shifts in labor force and business development, especially in rural areas where the difference may be most pronounced."
Ladlee, along with Jeffrey Lorson and Tracy Brundage of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, will review and predict direct workforce demand related to Marcellus shale gas development during a free Penn State Cooperative Extension online seminar at 1 p.m. on Aug. 27. Information about how to register for the seminar is available at http://naturalgas.extension.psu.edu/Events.htm. Online participants will have the opportunity to submit questions to the panelists during the seminar.
Seminar content will be based largely on the "Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment," a report recently released by the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center (MSETC), which is a joint effort of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Penn College. The report points to a significant increase in the number of jobs that will become available as a result of drilling and production operations within the Marcellus shale.
Among the report's conclusions: Interested workers may need specialized training; major shifts in the employment sector toward higher-paying natural gas jobs may mean an influx of workers from other counties and states; and employment sectors that share common skill sets with the natural-gas industry may see a shortage of workers.
"The takeaway message is that, under the MSETC model, each well creates about 11 full-time jobs during development and drilling," Brundage said. "To develop a well, it takes more than 410 people across 150 occupations, with 75 percent of the jobs requiring a high school diploma or specialized certification and approximately 25 percent requiring a college degree. Once a well is in production, approximately 17 full-time employees will be needed for every 100 producing wells."
Aimed at educational providers, organizations, institutions, colleges and universities across the commonwealth, the seminar is designed to promote a scalable workforce model to help estimate the employment impact of the Marcellus shale.
The seminar is the latest in a series of online workshops by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Cooperative Extension to address issues related to Marcellus shale gas exploration and development. Previous seminars -- which began in fall 2008 and have covered topics such as socio-economic implications, gas leasing, water use, forest and wildlife impacts, governmental roles, and community planning -- can be viewed at http://naturalgas.extension.psu.edu/webinars.htm.
For more information, contact Joann Kowalski, Penn State Extension educator in Susquehanna County, at (570) 278-1158 or by e-mail at jmk20@psu.edu.