August 02, 2007

Training deemed vital to replace work force

By

Sarah K. WinnStaff writer

West Virginia’s work force is changing and businesses need to plan and prepare, a panelist said during a Charleston Area Alliance CEO roundtable discussion on Wednesday.

“There are so many positions in the [utility] industry that you are not going to be able to fill with middle-aged white men,” said Mark Dempsey, American Electric Power’s vice president of external affairs. “You need to think beyond that.”

Dempsey, along with Tony Mazelon, a vice president and financial consultant with Hilliard Lyons, and Mack McDaniel, the dean for work force and economic development at West Virginia State Community and Technical College, addressed issues with the aging work force during CAA’s CEO Roundtable.

From McDaniel’s point of view, training employees to take retirees’ places is paramount. WVSCTC has partnered with a variety of local companies to develop a work force-training curriculum, he said.

For example, the school developed training programs for Diamond Electric and BB&T and partnered with Charleston Area Medical Center for a registered-nurse training program, which will graduate 140, all with guaranteed jobs at CAMC, in the next three years.

Most of these programs can be set up within six months, McDaniel said. “We take pride in trying to fast track, but keep the quality there,” he said.

The school also offers noncredit workshops and seminars, online instruction and can help with grant funding for the programs, he said.

At AEP, Dempsey has been pleased with WVSCTC’s Power Plant Technology program, which was set up to meet the utility’s requirement that all employees have at least a two-year technical degree.

The program is just a few years old, Dempsey said. Of the first class of 24, all were hired, either by AEP or with other utilities. Of the second class of six students, five have jobs, he said. Dempsey estimates that one-third of AEP’s work force will retire in three to five years. In five to 10 years, half the current work force will be at retirement age.

“It’s a daunting thing,” he said, but training programs and setting diversity goals are key. Along with the power plant technology course, AEP has a lineman training facility in Marmet, he said. Even with the training, it can be hard to find skilled linemen, Dempsey said.

“It is a career. These people are highly trained, and it’s almost a culture,” he said.

That’s where Tony Mazelon comes in. Companies should work to identify internal and external candidates long before employees retire, he said. It’s just good business practice, he said. “You should already know the talent you have,” he said. “If not, do a skill assessment.”

To contact staff writer Sarah K. Winn, call 348-5156.