Jun 15, 2016 5 min read

WAYNESBURG – Bo Hampson, a 2014 Waynesburg Central High School graduate, could be the face of the future workforce in the Pittsburgh region.

When he was a senior, Hampson, who was on the academic track at WCHS, took the fledgling “technology education” course offered by teacher Justin Golsky. The course presented career possibilities in the area’s natural gas industry.

Hampson completed a commercial driver’s training course at the school, and later became licensed.

“I didn’t want to be an accountant,” Hampson said, recalling his desire to get experience that helped him with his family’s business, which includes hauling and construction.

Today, Hampson is heading into his junior year at Waynesburg University, majoring in business management.

His education experience, a combination of practical training for work and preparation for a bachelor’s degree, makes him a prototype for the kind of worker who can succeed, according to a recent study of the future of the region’s workforce.

It’s a workforce that is changing rapidly as members of the baby boomer generation retire rapidly without a pipeline of younger workers to take their place.

It’s also undergoing a transformation because the demands of employers are continuing to evolve because of automation and technology, creating a need for workers who are more technically competent.

Those are two of the conclusions of a study commissioned by Allegheny Conference on Community Development and discussed before Greene County educators and economic development officials Wednesday during a presentation sponsored by Central Greene School District and Chevron Corp. A similar presentation will occur today in Washington County.

The study, titled “Inflection Point: Supply, Demand and the Future of Work in the Pittsburgh Region,” notes competition for jobs and talent in the global economy is putting greater pressure on communities here.

While noting the region made internationally recognized gains over the past 30 years, the authors said it must transform itself once again to meet the latest competitive challenge.

One of the biggest obstacles is Pittsburgh’s retiring baby boomer generation.

“Over the next 10 years, 1.2 million workers will need to be hired or upskilled here, while more than a quarter of a million enter retirement,” the study states.

“In the Pittsburgh region, 22 percent of workers are over age 55, compared to 19 percent nationally, with no comparable-sized group of younger workers behind them. This is particularly pronounced in the ‘Gen X’ category of people in their 40s, which has led to a hollowing out of middle management that would presumably be ready to step into top management.”

But maintaining a management class is only part of the problem.

The study’s authors looked at high-demand sectors such as information technology, business and finance, engineering, science and production, health care and construction, as well as energy.

While the high-demand sectors currently account for about 50,000 workers, it projects annual openings between 2015 and 2025 will average 3,500, with 65 percent of those openings requiring a bachelor’s degree.

Outside of high-demand sectors, the Pittsburgh region’s aggregate labor demand will be about 34,000 new workers per year over the next decade, as Pittsburgh employers will need to replace 29,000 retirees annually, while adding 5,000 new positions per year.

The study also noteed new talent and “upskilling” of existing workers will be required to tackle persistent concentrations of unemployment and underemployment.

“There are 32,000 long-term unemployed in the region,” the study states.

The occupational “families” projected to grow most rapidly are health-care support (15 percent); health-care practitioners (12 percent); and computer and math (11 percent).

The study also notes automation and technology are leading to the elimination of low-skill roles.

“For example, traditional occupations such as word processors and typists, and grinding machine operators are increasingly being replaced by employees with additional or higher-order skill sets who can incorporate this work into a broader occupation.”

Not everyone will need a bachelor’s degree for work.

Linda Topoleski of the Allegheny Conference, who worked on the study, noted there are currently about 28,000 jobs open in the region, “and two-thirds of them don’t require a four-year degree.”

The study projects the construction field, where trades are learned through union-sponsored training and apprenticeship and currently employs 58,000 in the region, will have 5,422 openings each year for the next decade.

In a separate profile of the energy industry, the study notes machinists and welders do not require a bachelor’s degree.

However, when looking at those at the supervisory level in energy, including mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers, the need for a college degree is universal.

So how does the region begin to prepare its next generation of workers?

In some ways, it has already started to happen. Golsky’s course became a “natural resources” class, adding a number of relevant topics covering safety, environmental issues and pipeline construction.

Trip Oliver, Chevron Appalachia’s representative for public affairs, believes progress can be made if businesses interact on a regular basis with schools on the types of workers they’ll need going forward.

Chevron supported STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) initiatives in schools since the beginning of the shale gas boom in the region.

Annette Vietmeier, director of curriculum at Waynesburg Central, agreed business and education need to work more closely.

“We do work in silos,” she said. “It’s hard to get the two to meet,” she said, noting in addition to energy, schools have difficulty in preparing students for careers in information technology and health care.

Oliver believes schools and businesses need to do a better job of getting parents to understand how important it is for students to acquire STEM skills at each step of the way through primary and secondary school.

“Most jobs are going to require technical skills” going forward, he said.