Student debt is increasing, and over 10,000 manufacturing jobs remain vacant in Westmoreland County.
We should increase our support for vocational training. For example, Westmoreland County Community College’s welding program takes two years to complete and costs $7,980 for county residents. Graduates in 2019 earned an average starting salary of approximately $65,000 with minimal debt; however, only about 40 students graduated in 2019.
Transportation is vital to supporting vocational training. Accessing WCCC’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Mount Pleasant can be challenging. In the county’s efforts to operate the bus system, it should partner with WCCC to create flex vouchers that may be used by low-income students enrolled in a vocational program to purchase trips to the ATC.
County officials should support a fiscally responsible approach by encouraging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to designate rural transportation systems as “regional assets” and dedicate part of the motor fuels tax revenue to funding these vouchers.
Let’s revitalize the county’s workforce.
Tyler Baum
Irwin
The writer is a senior at Dartmouth College studying government and public policy.