Shapiro signs executive order in Pittsburgh to create statewide workforce development program

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order Monday in Pittsburgh’s Esplen neighborhood, creating a statewide workforce training program.

The move comes after Pittsburgh was designated a “workforce development hub” by the White House, with the first lady visiting the region to sing the praises of the region’s workforce development efforts.

Shapiro said Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to create this kind of workforce program. He hopes it will expand on training efforts already underway in Pittsburgh and other cities across the state.

“Our administration has worked aggressively to expand our workforce, grow our economy and create real opportunity for the good people of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “We are making meaningful progress in those areas.”

The Commonwealth Workforce Transformation Program will invest federal money — from both the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law and the $669 billion Inflation Reduction Act — to help pay for apprenticeship programs, training facilities, hiring initiatives and associated programs such as paying for workers’ child care, uniforms and licensing fees.

Shapiro said companies, labor unions and businesses working on federally funded projects will get reimbursed for training workers and retaining them for at least six months. He hopes they will take advantage of the $400 million that is being made available over the next five years. He said Pennsylvania is still set to receive $19 billion in federal funds for infrastructure projects, and he wants to ensure the state has the workforce ready to build.

He said with Pittsburgh’s and Pennsylvania’s historically low unemployment rate, his administration wants to focus on expanding the workforce, not just filling it.

Pittsburgh’s regional unemployment rate in May was 4.1%, the lowest since the 1970s, but the region’s economy also has been recovering very slowly out of the pandemic compared to other metro areas.

Standing in front of a Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority lead water pipe replacement project underway in Esplen, Shapiro said the authority and local trade unions are ready to scale up projects to expand lead-pipe replacement across the city, but they need more workers.

“More trained workers means quicker progress, cleaner water, better infrastructure and more economic opportunity for Pennsylvanians,” he said. “The only thing holding us … is (not having) enough skilled laborers.”

Shapiro said the funding could bring in an additional 10,000 workers into the labor force for federally funded infrastructure projects in the state.

Earlier this month, U.S. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su told the Tribune-Review that Pittsburgh’s workforce hub designation should help expand the local labor force by attracting people to move to the region and to connect people who are out of the workforce with training and resources necessary to bring them back in.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said there are 50,000 unfilled positions in the region, according to statistics from the job-search site Indeed.

Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, applauded Shapiro’s executive order and said there are countless projects needed to upgrade infrastructure. He said this will expand the labor force and invest in neighborhoods such as Esplen that have not seen much investment in decades.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, said funneling federal money to workforce training is smart because it will boost workers in communities that need it the most. She lauded the Carpenters labor union program in which workers can earn associate’s degrees free of charge at Community College of Allegheny County.

She said Shapiro’s workforce program will be a complement to the White House efforts. She said there needs to be assurances that those on the bottom of the economic ladder are benefiting from workforce training.

“We need workforce programs that can turn generational disinvestment into generational wealth for our low-income, Black and brown community members,” she said.

This was the 15th time Shapiro has signed an executive order since taking office about seven months ago. He is far outpacing his predecessors in signing executive orders. Former Gov. Tom Wolf signed four in the first seven months of his first term and former Gov. Tom Corbett signed one.

When asked about this high number, Shapiro said he is focused on getting results.

“We believe in action,” he said. “This executive order is going to put 10,000 people to work. We are focused on results and getting stuff done every single day.”