Dan DeBone: Westmoreland County manufacturers’ most valuable product — careers

Jul 24, 2023

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Ask most Westmoreland County residents about the fourth week of May this year, and they’ll tell you it was just like any other. The Pirates hosted the Rangers for a three-game homestand. Students and relatives started to trickle in from out of town for Memorial Day. But it was anything but ordinary for the community members packed into an auditorium on Old Route 30 in Irwin.

Everyone had gathered to celebrate the latest recipients of Grow Westmoreland’s and Achieving True Self’s scholarship and grant program, which totaled over $20,000 in awards this year. These organizations distributed 11 Career Startup Scholarships, 13 Tools of the Trade Grants and three Achieving True Self Scholarships to county students who have demonstrated outstanding community engagement and achievement and plan to continue their education or enter the workforce.

This is just one of the many efforts that our region’s business leaders are taking to develop the next generation of skilled workers to ensure our leading industries — particularly manufacturing and agriculture — are equipped with the best and brightest talent for years to come. Bolstering our area’s workforce is critical to shoring up our local communities wrestling with population decline and the ensuing erosion of the tax base and challenges associate with an aging citizenry. The best way to address these issues is showing younger residents the tremendous opportunities that await them in Westmoreland County.

Fortunately, our region’s manufacturers have a great pitch for young job-seekers. For over a century, U.S. Steel has been producing the American-made products and materials that build our country’s homes, cars, appliances and more right here in the Mon Valley — supporting thousands of good-paying jobs across the greater Pittsburgh area. In Greensburg, General Carbide builds finished tooling, wear parts and other components for an array of markets, including the automotive, aerospace and oil and gas industries. The company also administers an internship program for high schoolers looking to pursue a career in manufacturing.

Sustaining these critical and innovative companies requires a steady supply of skilled labor, and that is why local entities like the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce and the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board are dedicated to directing and providing prospective workers with the tools they need to succeed while helping our businesses attract and retain top talent.

The Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board provides a wealth of resources for job-seekers, including job training programs, career and technical education curricula, and assistance related to dislocated workers and vocational rehabilitation. The board also shares employment information, including average wages and annual job demand, for high-priority industries such as advanced manufacturing, health care, and transportation and logistics. This is part of a broader effort to leave no stone unturned when it comes to build ing out our regional workforce, making sure Western Pennsylvania remains competitive on the national and international stage.

To illustrate how these efforts pay off, consider an event that took place a few weeks ago. Gov. Josh Shapiro joined political and business leaders to announce Re:Build Manufacturing’s $81 million investment to create the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park — and 300 new jobs. It’s thrilling to think that one day, one of the scholarship recipients in that Irwin auditorium may lay claim to one of those 300 jobs.

Dan DeBone is president and CEO of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce.

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