Research Brief
How Educators and Employers Can Align Efforts to Fill Middle-Skills STEM Jobs
Feb 7, 2019
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to tap natural gas are predicted to bring significant long-term benefits to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. To inform policy decisions on how best to expand and sustain the pool of workers with knowledge and skills needed by oil and natural gas employers in the tristate region, this report summarizes findings from surveys administered to oil and gas employers and education providers.
An Analysis of Employers and Colleges in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
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The challenge of connecting employers and educators to collaboratively plan for training future workers is an enduring one — particularly for jobs that are rapidly changing because of technological advancements. This report addresses this challenge as it pertains to employers and educators in the oil and natural gas industry located in and around the Utica and Marcellus shales. The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to tap natural gas has resulted in the Utica and Marcellus shales becoming major sources of natural gas supply within the United States and are predicted to bring significant long-term economic benefits to the tristate region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. To inform policy decisions on how best to expand and sustain the pool of workers with knowledge and skills needed by oil and natural gas employers in the tristate region, this report summarizes the findings from surveys administered to the region's oil and gas employers and education providers. We found that basic cross-cutting skills — such as time management, speaking, and writing — and knowledge of business operations (including sales and marketing) are reported by employers as essential for their workers to competently perform in high-priority occupations. However, these basic skills tend not to be emphasized in local postsecondary degree programs that support the oil and natural gas industry. We also found a clear lack of collaboration and partnerships between oil and gas companies and education providers across the region, with colleges and employers each pointing to the other's unwillingness as the source for lack of partnerships or collaboration.
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
Data Sources
Chapter Three
Jobs and Skills in Demand: What Employers Need
Chapter Four
Supplying Credentials, Courses, and Training Opportunities: What Colleges Provide
Chapter Five
Collaborating to Build a Better Workforce
Chapter Six
Conclusion and Recommendations
Appendix
Employer Interview Protocol
The research described in this report was funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted by RAND Labor and Population and RAND Education.
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