The mission of the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board (WIB) is “A job for every worker, a worker for every job”.

 

A major initiative of the WIB is to enhance the ability of Pennsylvania Career and Technical Centers (CTCs) to identify, attract and prepare a workforce that will meet Pennsylvania’s growing demand for skilled labor.

 

Currently, the structure of CTC’s cannot support the need for skilled workers of an industrial, energy intensive economy.  Demographic trends indicate over 50% of the current workforce across all industries will be eligible to retire in less than 15 years.  Local companies in a wide variety of industries have raised awareness of a growing shortage of skilled workers.  This means:

·         Local companies can not perform at their full capability

·         Difficulty in attracting and retaining employers

·         Less ability to maintain the current infrastructure

 

The WIB has established a committee of educators and industry representatives to move the CTC initiative forward.  Two main areas have been identified and are the focus of what is believed to be necessary – 1) the funding stream for CTC is inadequate 2) the administrative structure/board of the CTC’s needs to be redefined. This is not something that will happen overnight, but rather will be a process that the WIB undertakes in a systematic way so that a satisfactory conclusion is reached which results in a better prepared workforce.

 

The Career and Technical Center Initiative Committee is chaired by Jeff Kelly, Phil Savini and Bill Yant.