As I mentioned in last week's article, just 14% of Pittsburgh area workers earn more than $50,000.00 per year. That data is likely to change as a result of natural gas and the demand for workers in the industry. This is also sure to influence the educational alternatives available to job seekers, high school graduates and parents of young students.
In Fall of 2011, a new client came into the McKees Rocks Employment & Training Center, our career center just outside of Pittsburgh. A young, personable African-American male, he asked me, "Who is this Marcellus Shale guy I've been hearing about?" I am not quoting him to make a joke because I do believe the question represents a great disconnect between urban America and the economic opportunities that exist...but that is for a later discussion. In any case, we spent some time exploring the natural gas industry and the economic impact that the Marcellus Shale boom is having on our region. He ultimately decided to enter a training program that would teach him more about the industry and help him to obtain his CDL.
The young man entered a trade school in the beginning of the year. He was able to obtain a grant to pay for his schooling, so there was no debt due upon graduation. After a roughly four-week accelerated course, he obtained his certificate and was able to test for his CDL. I just spoke with him yesterday. He was quickly hired on by a local fracking company. After a near decade of not working and getting into legal trouble, he is now working a legitimate job and, with overtime and his per diem, he is earning close to $5,000.00 per month.
This morning I am speaking to an 8th grade class at a middle-school in a west Pittsburgh suburb. What shall I tell them when they ask about college, work, etc.? I think, as a career counselor, I would be doing them a disservice if I did not share this story.
No comments:
Post a Comment