“Over the next 20 years, about 35 percent of the workforce in southwestern Pennsylvania will reach retirement age.”

“We don’t have the luxury to waste any human resources, and we need to think about ways of getting involved in talent attraction.”

Westmoreland-Fayette WIB Executive Director Bill Thompson, during remarks he made at the Westmoreland County economic development seminar, held at Westmoreland County Community College on Dec. 13, 2002.

Between 1990 and 2000, the labor force in the Westmoreland-Fayette area grew by 11,300 – from 227,800 to 239,100. However, during this same 10-year period, the population of the two-county area grew by only 2,911 – from 515,726 to 518, 637.

(From 2000 to 2006, the labor force grew by another 12,200 to 251,300.)

In order to continue to attract businesses to Fayette and Westmoreland counties, and to discourage businesses from leaving the area, they must be confident that there will be a large pool of potential workers from which to hire and maintain a workforce. These businesses must also be confident that they will have access to a skilled workforce; therefore local workers must be encouraged to update their current skills and learn new skills. “Unskilled work is disappearing, and skilled workers fuel economic growth,” Thompson told the economic development seminar.