The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on Pennsylvania's economy. Workers have been experiencing significant disruption or displacement as businesses close and work itself adjusts to socially distancing and remote protocols. This assembly explored the job training needs in the state's rural communities and how job training can be an investment in an equitable recovery.
Download the presentation slides and watch the event recording.
The agenda included:
Welcoming remarks: Theresa Y. Singleton, Senior Vice President and Community Affairs Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Opening remarks: Scott J. Sheely, Acting Executive Director, Pennsylvania Commission for Agricultural Education Excellence
The Pandemic’s Implications for Rural Workforce Development and Opportunities for Skills-Based Transitions
- Shannon Munro, Vice President of Workforce Development, Penn College of Technology
- Hannah Smith-Brubaker, Executive Director, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture
- Lucyann Vierling, Executive Director, Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance
- Keith Wardrip, Community Development Research Manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Resource Chat on Rural Workforce Development and Businesses
- Sheila Ireland, Deputy Secretary of Workforce Development, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Carol Kilko, Deputy Secretary of Business Financing, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
- Susie Snelick, Executive Director, Workforce Solutions for North Central Pennsylvania
Closing remarks: Allen Norton, Workforce Development Executive, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry
The series is cohosted by the Philadelphia Fed's Community Development and Regional Outreach Department, Penn State's Center for Economic and Community Development, and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.