能源部門是西弗吉尼亞州經(jīng)濟的基本組成部分。過去，西弗吉尼亞州的能源部門主要是煤炭開采和燃燒，用于電力和工業(yè)用途。然而，近年來，從頁巖資源中提取的天然氣和天然氣液體的生產(chǎn)及其工業(yè)應(yīng)用增加了能源部門對工人的需求。根據(jù)西弗吉尼亞州勞動力的就業(yè)預(yù)測，到2020年，西弗吉尼亞州的石油和天然氣開采行業(yè)的就業(yè)人數(shù)將比2010年的就業(yè)人數(shù)增加10%；采礦業(yè)，主要是煤礦業(yè)，預(yù)計將下降5%。石油和天然氣開采領(lǐng)域的大多數(shù)工作都需要擁有高中或兩年副學(xué)位的半熟練工人。鑒于這一潛在需求，西弗吉尼亞州面臨的一個明顯挑戰(zhàn)是如何支持將這些工人轉(zhuǎn)移到能源部門勞動力的體系：勞動力發(fā)展管道。Tis渠道包括招聘、培訓(xùn)和教育當(dāng)?shù)厝瞬艓欤ò▌偖厴I(yè)的年輕高中畢業(yè)生和已經(jīng)在工作的成年人），以滿足能源部門雇主短期和長期的工作和技能需求。

Te energy sector is a fundamental component of West Virginia’s economy. In the past, West Virginia’s energy sector was dominated by coal mining and combustion for electricity and industrial uses. In recent years, however, the production of natural gas and natural gas liquids extracted from shale resources and their industrial application have increased energy-sector demand for workers. According to employment projections from WorkForce West Virginia, the oil and gas extraction industry will experience a 10-percent increase in employment in West Virginia by 2020 when compared with employment in 2010; mining, primarily coal-mining, is predicted to experience a 5 percent fall. Most of the jobs in oil and gas extraction require semiskilled workers with high school or two-year associate’s degrees. Given this potential demand, a clear challenge faced by West Virginia is how to support the system that moves these workers into the energy sector’s workforce: the workforce-development pipeline. Tis pipeline involves recruiting, training, and educating the local talent pool (both young recent high school graduates and adults already in the workforce) to fll the job and skills needs of energy-sector employers, for both the short and long terms.