Letter to the editor: Strategies to get back to work

In the editorial “More than one reason for unfilled job openings” (May 18, TribLIVE), you conclude that the additional pandemic unemployment benefits are not the only reason there are hundreds of unfilled jobs in the Pittsburgh area.

The association I lead includes the 22 local workforce development boards that operate the 60-plus PA CareerLinks centers. We are the honest brokers of the only base solid enough to anchor economic stability: a good job for everyone who needs one.

As workforce development experts, however, we also see that the pandemic crystallized what we already knew – that there has been a steady decline in the number of Pennsylvanians working or actively seeking work. This is compounded by the mass exodus resulting from baby boomer retirements and a decreasing birth rate.

Our challenge today is to reimagine workforce development, and the old “one size fits all” approach won’t work. We have a list of the top 10 strategies to get Pennsylvanians back to work on our website at pawork.org, and I urge your readers to check them out.

Carrie Anne Amann

Camp Hill

The writer is executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association