Even though studies and surveys have shown there are not enough people to fill skilled jobs nationwide, a program to prepare students for those jobs locally has seemingly failed for lack of participation.

So, two of the people who were instrumental in putting the original program together are tweaking it in hopes of attracting more students to fill the jobs that are out there.

State Rep. Pete Daley and Mon Valley Progress Council Joe Kirk put in a lot of effort into starting the job training program at Mon Valley Career and Technology Center in Speers.

However, while that program is still in existence, currently no classes are being offered due to a lack of interest.

"We're still working on that program, but we can't get the kids to participate," Daley said. "It's hard for us to understand.

"We marketed (the program) all over the place and we spent a great deal of money and time to get it up and running. We did get the initial class started, but we just can't figure out why kids aren't participating. There are so many opportunities there.

"It's frustrating," the California Democrat added. "We put so much into this in terms of marketing, doing anything we could to reach the kids. And we can't get the kids to sign up. It really is hard to figure out because the jobs are there."

As a result of the lack of response to that program, Daley said he and Kirk are working on another initiative that would train potential workers for a specific job for a specific company.

"It's a customized job-training program," Daley explained. "What we hope to do is find specific jobs for area companies and then train students in the technology for that specific job.

"That's what we're trying to do right now."

Kirk said that he thinks the challenge is not only coming up with people to fill skilled labor jobs, but also to figure out why the work ethic in those jobs has not been what it had been in the past. I think the jobs are out there, but the companies may have a distorted idea about how many people are able to fill those jobs," Kirk said. "Compared to before, there aren't as many specialized skills people out there."

That is why he and Daley have shifted their focus to finding students to fill particular openings instead of training them for skilled positions in general.

"We will ask companies in the area what they are looking for in terms of skilled jobs and what their requirements for those jobs are," Kirk said. "Then, we will attempt to get instructors to match those particular requirements."

A survey published last month by Manpower Inc., a Milwaukee-based international job-placement company, showed U.S. employers consider finding skilled-trade workers their No. 1 hiring challenge.

"It's a problem that countries must address for the long term to foster economic health and fuel business," the report said.

At the same time, President Obama last month called on the United States to produce 8 million more college graduates by 2020, "because America has to have the highest share of graduates compared to every other nation."

Obama said ensuring American workers succeed in the 21st century hinges on providing them access to the best education the world has to offer.

Putting so much emphasis on college education worries Jeff Kelly, CEO and owner of Hamill Manufacturing in Westmoreland County.

His precision-machine and fabricating company primarily contracts with the defense industry. He said his employees make $25,000 to $70,000 a year.

"If you look at the macro level, there aren't going to be enough people to replace the workers we're going to lose.

"Who's going to do the work that needs to be done, like the linemen to keep the electricity on?" Kelly said.

John Hammang, spokesman for the Washington-based American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said the demand for many trade jobs has declined.

"An awful lot of manufacturing is now done outside the country," Hammang said, adding that he doesn't foresee that dynamic changing soon.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment in installation, maintenance and repair occupations increased to 9.5 percent last month from 8.1 percent in August 2009.

"The main problem in the labor market right now, it seems to me, is one of weak demand and not so much a problem of mismatch between the skills of the unemployed and the needs of employers," University of Pittsburgh labor economist Alexis Leon said.

Still, Hammang and Leon concede that some specialized trades in certain geographic areas probably lack qualified people.

Kelly said that's an obstacle he's confronting.

"I can't find enough workers because people aren't aware that these jobs exist," said Kelly, who employs about 130.

"People have to know that the skilled trades are a viable career path," said Becca Dernberger, Manpower Inc.'s northeast division vice president.

One reason people don't is the stigma American culture has attached to vocational-technical schools, said Kevin Rice, assistant director of the career and technology center in New Stanton.

"Our society is misguided and misinformed," Rice said. "The value of a four-year college education is misunderstood. That type of degree used to mean economic prosperity. But that's no longer the case."

Rice cited an example of a recent elementary teacher's position in the Bentworth School District in Washington County that attracted more than 200 applicants.

"Those people bought into the dream that a bachelor's degree equals economic prosperity," he said.

Rice emphasized that he isn't dissuading students from going to college. Many tech center students ultimately earn bachelor's and master's degrees in fields such as nursing and business administration.

"Americans should be aware another route, just as viable, exists, too," Rice said. Vocational-technical schools 30 years ago taught skills that used to be farther down the skill chain. Today, students at the center gain the technological know-how to repair modern vehicles that contain computer-operating systems.

"And we've improved the rigor of our academic courses," Rice said. The curriculum includes literacy and writing classes, he said.

Dernberger adds that a bachelor's degree and a trade-school certification are not mutually exclusive.

"In order to build a community of a sustainable work force that leverages talent, we will need to embrace and encourage both paths," she said.

Mandi Bartlett, 23, did exactly that. Like Biesuz, Bartlett took classes at the tech center in the afternoons while she attended high school.

A 2005 graduate of Hempfield Area Senior High, the Greensburg resident is a registered nurse working on her master's degree at Carlow University's Greensburg campus to become a nurse practitioner.

"If I hadn't gone to tech, I don't know if I would've gone into nursing," said Bartlett, who makes more than $50,000 a year. "The stigma's there, and it's not true."

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