College Hosts Marcellus Shale Career Event for Educators

Pennsylvania College of Technology's Outreach for K-12 Office recently hosted an event for 42 high school educators, familiarizing them with "Career Pathways in Marcellus Shale."

Educators attended sessions to learn about the principal foundations of the industry, sampled how teachers can educate students about the Marcellus Shale as part of general education subjects, and toured classrooms and laboratories in Penn College majors that relate to the natural gas industry.

Bud S. Rutherford, of the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center, a collaboration between Penn College and Penn State Cooperative Extension, delivered the keynote speech, providing teachers with an overview of the natural gas industry.

Dianne Bubb, natural gas industry liaison/FIT coordinator for Pennsylvania CareerLink Lycoming County, talked with the educators about careers that are evolving around the industry and requirements for some of those jobs. Mary A. Sullivan, dean of natural resources management at Penn College, discussed heavy construction equipment technology, forest technology and other majors in the School of Natural Resources management that are seeing high demand for graduates in industries related to shale development.

Amy P. Toole, assistant professor of chemistry at Penn College, offered an example of general education course work chemistry and geology that can use scientific principles of the Marcellus Shale to illustrate concepts.

Each educator also toured one of five participating companies that provides services related to the region's natural gas drilling.

"Almost all the jobs are created in small companies that receive contracts from the drillers," said Jeannette F. Carter, director of Outreach for K-12 at Penn College.

It is important for educators and, in turn, students, to be aware of the wide range of careers and companies that are hiring employees as the high school students begin making choices about their futures.

Attorney Lester "Bud" Greevy, of Greevy & Associates, presented a session on career opportunities related the legal aspects of the Marcellus Shale industry, including what it takes to succeed and prospects for a student who is thinking about a career in law but is interested in the natural gas industry.

Halliburton Energy Services offered a tour of its Muncy location, where it produces concrete well pads.

Larson Design Group offered a tour of its Williamsport facility, highlighting its services surveying, water management, and planning and permitting and how they fit into the natural gas industries, as well as career opportunities in those services.

Ralph S. Alberts Co. Inc. provided a tour of its Montoursville plant, where it produces polyurethane foam to make durable plastic well-pad liners to contain liquid at drilling sites. Representatives talked about the skills the company needs from a valuable employee.

Universal Well Services provided a tour of a well site ready to be hydraulic-fractured. The company provides hydrofracturing, cementing, nitrogen and acidizing services, as well as specialty services. Educators saw the equipment and tools necessary to access the natural gas safely.

The event was supported by an $11,000 Regional Career Education Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp.

To learn more about services available to schools through the Outreach for K-12 Office, call 570-320-8003 or visit online .

For more about Penn College, visit on the Web , email or call toll-free 800-367-9222.

For more information about grant-funding opportunities, faculty and staff may contact the Grants and Contracts Office at ext. 7562 or through its Web portal.