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.”

by John Miller, for Business Central

MOUNT UNION – FCI USA, Inc. is slicing half of its workforce at its Mount Union manufacturing facility in a decisive restructuring initiative that will take those positions across the Pacific Ocean and reinstall them in China, the world’s fastest growing economy.

Company spokesman Bob Bewley confirmed in a telephone interview.

“Unfortunately we’re going to have to cut back about 150 jobs,” Bewley said. “We’re moving mainly to stay competitive by moving our product lines to our customer base,” Bewley said.

The company’s primary customer base is in and around China, with the Asia-Pacific region home to rising demand for electronic goods. FCI manufactures electronic connectors for the consumer data, telecom and medical industries, according to Bewley, including connectors for TVs and DVD players made by electronic giants like Sony and Panasonic, both based out of Japan.

An electronic connector is anything that connects an electronic device to a power source, Bewley said. Some examples he cited were connected circuit boards in a computer or a cell phone charge.

In 1998, FCI acquired Berg Electronics, which owned and operated the Huntingdon plant, according to Bewley. He said the Huntingdon county plant has been in operation since 1996 and will continue to remain open despite the move.

FCI USA company headquarters is located outside of Harrisburg in Etters, Pa. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of FCI Inc., a French company with operations in 30 countries and 14,200 employees. FCI Inc. had more than $1.5 billion in sales in 2007.