Editorial -- Chamber President: Prepare For Prosperity

The Princeton Times, September 23, 2005

PRINCETON - "West Virginia is poised to become an economic leader in our country," West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts told Mercer County business officials Wednesday. But, that opportunity, he said, also carries responsibility to create and maintain a qualified workforce.

International events, the rising prices of natural gas and oil and the drop in supply caused by Hurricane Katrina could propel West Virginia to the forefront of energy and industry in the nation, Roberts said.

Those developments, while tremendous chances for the state economy, will not help West Virginia workers if they are not qualified for the positions created, he warned.

While Mountain State residents have always been known for their dedicated work ethic and commitment to "an honest day's work for an honest day's pay," sometimes the skills they possess just don't measure up to the need, Roberts said, addressing a crowd in attendance for a business issues luncheon at The Douglas Center.

He cited an example that occurred when he worked for a Huntington company in need of welders. Officials at the business initially sought experienced tradesmen in traditional employment forums.

When no qualified candidates turned up, Roberts said company execs turned to the local vocational training center and expressed an interest in offering four new graduates job opportunities. Once again, they were turned away, since there were no students in the welding program.

The same trend is happening today in the coal mining industry, he said. Even with the industry that accounts for 25 percent of the state's economy going "great guns," mining leaders cannot find enough skilled workers to man the mines and machinery to capitalize on the potential boom.

Quick to emphasize that he was not blaming education officials for the shortfall in skilled employees, Roberts said the business community must take action now to identify the jobs of the future and involve the education sector in the process of developing an adequate workforce.

"It is extremely important that we learn to communicate with educators what our needs are going to be," he said.

Part of the problem with maintaining workers, Roberts said, is human sacrifice West Virginia has experienced with the loss of manufacturing jobs.

In 1979, there were 130,000 manufacturing jobs in West Virginia, but by 2004, there were less than 65,000. "That's an abysmal failure," Roberts said, pointing out that each of the five surrounding states have increased in that sector.

The decrease in available jobs forced the workers out of the state, a fact evidenced by declining adult and student population, he said.

In 1960, there were an estimated 460,000 students enrolled in West Virginia's schools, but that number dropped to 280,000 in 2004, Roberts said.

"Our young families have not found opportunity in West Virginia," he said, and without the proper training and qualified employees he worried businesses may meet the same fate.