One of the key issues Director of Economic Development Bob Spaulding covered at the county exec.’s town hall meeting last Wednesday is the proposed regional community college.  In responce to a question I posed, trying to find solid reasoning in the effort, he described many of the issues involved.

The Erie area has a vast shortage of highly skilled workers.  While the private institutes provide some skilled training, the manufacturers are not able to simply hire ready-to-go personell.  He mentioned several industries that have a constant need for properly trained welders,  who currently have 50 to 60 openings they are unable to fill.

In fields such as engineering, most of the graduates of Gannon (70%) are not locals, who might be more likely to stay here in Erie.

The cost of tuition at some of the private trade schools is extremely high, from $17,000 to $26,000 per year.  Very few displaced or recent high school grads who do not choose to attend a college are not able to afford trade school.

As required by the State of Pa., the community college must set up it’s curriculum based on the needs of the area businesses and manufacturers.  Every three years, the curriculum must be reviewed and/or amended to reflect the type of jobs the community requires over the next few years.

The cost of operating the CC would be divided into thirds, one third each from tuition, county, and state.  Spaulding also stated that several regional communities have expressed an interest in sending students to Erie County for training, including Warren, Pa. and some others.  The students from outside the county would reimburse the CC for the total cost of their education.  In this and other ways, the cost of operating the school would not be a burden on Erie County taxpayers.

Since the CC would draw students mainly from our area, they would likely find employment locally that would provide substantial earning power, thus encouraging them to remain here in Erie County.  Many of the positions they would be trained to fill would be at entry level wages of $15-$18 thousand dollars, such as welders.

Tuition at the CC would be substantially lower than private schools, allowing more participation from lower-income residents, or those for whom the high cost of college would be a major obstacle.

The students would be more fully trained to perform the duties required for a particular job, at a lower cost.

Any attempt to market the regional assets to a prospective client entails the ability to provide a skilled workforce.  With all (1500) jobs that are left unfilled, it’s hard to convince the client that an adequate workforce is available.  A Community College would help increase the quantity of qualified workers.

In the end, it appears to me that the reasoning is sound, and the benefits of a Community College make it a good investment for the Erie Area.  Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to Bob Spaulding for his input.

More discussion topics to follow.