by R. Brock Pronko, Regional Business Analyst

By 2014, U.S. employment will rise to 145.6 million, an increase of 13 percent, or 18.9 million jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s 4.3 times the number of jobs lost during the recession.

The fastest-growing major occupational group will be made up mostly of technical occupations that generally require postsecondary education or training. Examples include: nurses and physician assistants, physical therapists, network systems and data communication analysts, computer software engineers, database administrators, environmental engineers, building automation technicians, and plastics manufacturing and alternative energy industry workers.

In order to meet the demands of a 21st century economy, Pennsylvania will need to retool its workforce by providing opportunities for technical training that keeps pace with the changing trends in business and industry.

While many colleges and universities in the Commonwealth offer some technical and professional degree programs, the bulk of this training is still provided by technical schools. Our region has only one public technical school – Penn College of Technology in Williamsport.

“I believe very strongly in a relationship between our educational institution and the businesses that employ our graduates,” said Davie Jane Gilmour, president of Penn College of Technology.

Every degree program at Penn College has an advisory board made up of industry and business representatives. The faculty and the administration meet with those advisory boards at least once a year to evaluate trends in the workforce and to learn what skill sets employers need to meet those changes.

“The advisory boards are really important to us from a curriculum development point of view,” said Gilmour, who herself has developed ties with the business community.

She serves on the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation Board of Directors and as Chairman of Industry Education & Training Committee of the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation, and as a board member of Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center and Susquehanna Health System, Opportunities Unlimited, and Industrial Properties Corporation.

“I think that workforce development researchers David Passmore and Rose Baker at Penn State are absolutely correct when they say there are good paying, high skilled jobs in Pennsylvania, for example, in the fast growing plastics industry,” said Gilmour. “And I think those opportunities still exist even during the recession, because we know our graduates are getting employed in the state.”

Another trend that Passmore and Baker have identified is the increasing “brain drain” of young talent from our region and from our state.

“We are bucking that trend as a net importer of students,” said Gilmour. “We have more graduating students staying in Pennsylvania than leaving, in fact, 82 percent of our alumni live in state, and we have 54,000 alumni.

“One of the things we can do to retain talent is to continue to expand our relationships with business and industry with our advisory committees, because those are the future employers of our students,” said Gilmour.

Some employers provide on-the-job training or tuition reimbursement for their employees who need training at colleges or technical schools.

“Businesses in our region who want to recruit qualified employees should develop a relationship with the business schools or technical schools in their area,” said Gilmour. “If there aren’t any such schools near them, they need to reach out to their local public school system so that students understand what careers are available and what further training they might need after they graduate.”

Penn College is also encouraging students to make their own future business contacts in the social-networking realm. In January, Penn College launched its first official social-networking presence on Facebook.

Another topical issue the technical school has tackled is professional ethics.

“In today’s world, ethics training is not something you can assume gets taken care of elsewhere. We have to do it here,” said Gilmour.

Teachers in every program area at Penn College address specific ethical issues that students are likely to encounter on their jobs.

Last month, Penn College held its spring open house, which attracted over 1,400 students from 24 different states.

“I strongly believe that Penn College is in a position to greatly influence the workplace of tomorrow,” said Gilmour. “If America is to be a world leader for the future, we must have a vibrant workplace, and our educators must commit themselves to engaging young people so that they can realize their potential.

“I believe that ‘hands-on’ education and technical training are the cornerstones of our future workforce and our economic recovery,” said Gilmour.

“They will help us improve our infrastructure, develop alternative energy sources, care for our aging population, and provide the kinds of changes that need to take place, which makes me very optimistic about the future.”

Harrisburg – With the national unemployment rate rising to 7.2 percent, Pennsylvania may be in store for some troubling economic times, according to the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania economy lost 26,000 jobs last November and is expected to lose more when the December numbers are calculated.

According to labor economist Mark Price, that unemployment claims in Pennsylvania were 52 percent higher in December than they were during the same period last year.