While the first rule of real estate is “location, location, location, the next question from site selection teams are “What is the status of infrastructure?” including highways, rail, airports, waterways, utilities, etc.
But right there with infrastructure availability is workforce availability: Are sufficient workers accessible and, in many cases, are there institutions close by to provide the training those bodies will need to work in the company’s new location.
Petrochemicals and plastics have become a burgeoning industry in the eastern Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/northern West Virginia region, with numerous companies which use plastics to make products located within the three states.
According to Shale Crescent USA, the Ohio Valley energy advantage, Ohio resides within a day’s drive of 50% of America’s high-demand markets and 70% of polyethylene demand.
And now, with the ethane cracker complex under construction near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, and a similar facility long proposed for southeast Ohio, companies are expected to locate near the projects to take advantage of next-door transportation costs.
Does the region have the locations to make setting up operations in the Tri-State a positive move? Yes. Does the region have the needed infrastructure? Certainly, the rivers, highways, rail and airports. Utilities are in place for some locations and can be placed with little trouble.
What about work force? Specifically, a trained work force that a plastics-related company could plug-in with little trouble?
Experts say the work force is here, and many universities, colleges, two-year community colleges and trade schools in the Tri-State have seen the future and it includes available – many times free – workforce development.
“Workforce development is very important for companies that are making deals, because growth means more jobs to fill, in addition to maintaining current positions,” said Bryce Custer with EPIC Services Group.
EPIC recently was established as an Energy/Plastics/Intermodal/Commercial consulting group. EPIC is a subsidiary of Ohio-based Ohio River Corridor, LLC.
“Companies must take a proactive approach to meet projected headcounts and develop short and long-term plans to meet the maximum hiring requirements when expanding the business,” Custer said.
Adopting high-priority workforce development and planning programs is critical to making necessary leaps in the speed and quality of hiring, according to Custer.
In Ohio, the availability of training runs the length of the education continuum, from four year-universities training chemical engineers, chemists, etc., to two-year community colleges, to trade schools, state career centers – even high schools, which can offer strong STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics) courses to prepare future polymer personnel.
“Today, you don’t need a four-year degree to get a good-paying job, and many high schools are emphasizing those jobs are available without college,” according to Bryce Custer, SIOR, CCIM, Broker, Petrochemical and Energy Services, NAI Ohio River Corridor.
Ohio Technical Centers (OTCs) provide post-secondary career and technical education (CTE) at 53 career centers across Ohio. These institutions offer programming in the skill trades that prepare learners for certificates, industry-recognized certifications, and state licensures.
Many of the OTCs are positioned to respond quickly to the needs of business and industry by providing customize trainings and business consultation services to companies.
Ron Ponder calls himself a “poor entrepreneur,” with a background publishing newspapers, hosting a radio show, and now a non-paid Ambassador for the Urban League in Canton, Ohio. A man who has created jobs his entire life.
“This area (Stark County- Canton Ohio) is primed to take off (in terms of good-paying jobs related to the petrochemical/polymer industry), with the leadership in Canton knowing it has to do something (to attract said jobs), but are unsure exactly what to do,” Ponder said.
Ponder added companies along the Ohio River Corridor already are looking for people to expand their operations.
Community colleges in high-impact regions like the Gulf Coast (and the Pennsylvania/Ohio/West Virginia region) are capitalizing on the labor gap by offering professional certification courses taught by experienced industry employees to help fast-track the next wave of skilled petrochemical labor, according to a major Department of Energy study, “The Appalachian Energy and Petrochemical Renaissance,” released this past June.
According to a recent study by the Rand Corp., employers want workers with both specific and general managerial skills. More than half of employers have high-priority occupations that require at least five years of previous work experience.
Workers who can think critically and creatively in the context of their work, solve work-based problems, and make sound decisions at work are highly sought, as are workers who understand the fundamentals of administration and management, according to Rand.
In addition to community colleges and private training institutes, four-year colleges and universities and other stakeholders, such as workforce investment boards and industry trade associations, should be included in strategies for workforce development and planning, Rand recommends.
One of the tactics JobsOhio, the private, nonprofit organization charged with creating jobs and bringing new capital investment to Ohio, uses in attracting petrochemical-polymer companies and jobs involves a great deal of listening, according to Matt Cybulski.
“The team we’ve built in the last two years has focused on building relationships,” said Cybulski, Managing Director, Energy and Chemicals, at JobsOhio.