Guest Commentary: Maximizing opportunity in US energy development

David Holt, president of the Consumer Energy Alliance

By David Holt

Over the past few years it’s become clear that math, science and technology education is critical to our nation’s economic success. This is especially the case in the energy sector where technological advancements – namely the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, advancements in renewable energy have transformed the outlook for the U.S. economy and in turn the economic prospects for millions of Americans.

The numbers are staggering.  In 2011, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry added over 150,000 jobs bringing the total number to approximately 9.2 million.  Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that over 3.2 million Americans are employed in the nation’s burgeoning green jobs sector. Taken together, the nation’s energy resurgence is supporting well over 12 million jobs.  To help put that in perspective, the energy industry is supporting an amount of jobs that exceeds the population of every U.S. state except California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

While there is much reason to celebrate, there is also cause for concern as the industry is facing an immediate and serious dearth of skilled workers. Due to this, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) predicts that the number of unfilled jobs in the energy and manufacturing sector could grow to 3 million by 2015. This concern was echoed by the National Research Council (NRC) which notes, “the current pipeline of STEM-capable students and workers is inadequate to meet workforce needs.”

So then, with nearly 12 million Americans currently on our nation’s unemployment roster how can we ensure that hard-working Americans are prepared to take full advantage of this growth? As the NRC notes, “industry-education partnerships, particularly at community colleges or in the first two years of higher education, have emerged as critical to the nation’s energy and mining future.”  Luckily, there are programs currently in place that only need to be emulated to ensure that Americans of all backgrounds can benefit from this economic activity.

In Pennsylvania, companies developing the Marcellus Shale have partnered with community colleges, junior colleges, technical schools and universities to ensure Pennsylvanians are benefiting from the state’s resource abundance. Universities across the Commonwealth, ranging from the Pennsylvania College of Technology to Penn State University, have expanded their offerings to prepare citizens for work in the growing natural gas industry.

In California, Chevron launched the “California Partnership”. The effort involves partnering with over 60 non-profit groups to help introduce STEM curricula into California’s public schools. Since its launch, the project has reached more than 500,000 students and provided over 13,000 scholarships to students seeking to further their science and math education.

However, expanding STEM education in higher education is only part of the equation. We must capture a student’s interest in energy and the sciences at a younger age.

In Ohio, the Ohio Oil and Natural Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) is doing exactly that. OOGEEP, a unique state organization celebrating its 15th anniversary this month, is working with primary schools across the state to increase education regarding science, engineering and energy development.  OOGEEP also provided over 30 scholarships just last year to student’s interested in pursuing energy careers.  OOGEEP’s efforts are critically important as sometimes all it takes is one positive experience to change the trajectory of a student’s career.

The Consumer Energy Alliance is also committed to helping prepare America’s youth for these new opportunities. Each year we partner with the City and University of Houston to host an Energy Day Festival where students participate in demonstrations with a variety of energy companies and research institutions. More than 26,000 students and their families have attended over the past two years.

In addition to these types of programs, leaders in every state must work proactively to highlight the abundant opportunities associated with vocational education programs.  Again, a program exists that can be emulated.  In Pennsylvania, a new effort called ShaleNet, supported in part by the U.S. Department of Labor, has connected thousands of students with vocational education and jobs in the energy industry.

All of these programs, and others like them, allow our nation’s youth and adults to develop their education for employment in a burgeoning U.S. energy industry.  Now that our nation understands its energy abundance it’s imperative that leaders in the energy industry, the nation’s universities and community colleges, and governments at all levels help prepare our citizens for the opportunities ahead.  After all, employment in the energy sector generally offers higher salaries, more generous benefits, and greater job security than the average U.S. worker.

The education of our nation’s younger workforce, and re-education of those American’s currently without a job, is one of the most important issues facing our nation’s energy and manufacturing industries – and thus our continued economic growth.

Knowing these programs are in place is the first step. Implementing them on a national scale is imperative to continue to advance the energy industry and our economic success while providing increased employment opportunities for Americans nationwide. Doing so would create a 50 state jobs program which is greatly needed.

David Holt is president of the Consumer Energy Alliance.

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