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Local colleges are stepping up to challenge of the shale-gas boom  
November 1, 2011 

The shale-gas industry in eastern Ohio and other eastern states is developing at an accelerating pace, so the fact that colleges and universities in the region quickly are adding experts to their staffs and developing programs related to the industry is good news. 

Efforts already under way are helping connect people to good jobs in the gas industry. 

Higher-learning institutions will serve their communities even better in the long run if they also focus on scientific research to identify the safest and most effective ways to extract natural gas from the deeply buried Marcellus and Utica shale layers without contaminating water or otherwise harming the environment. 

Dozens of colleges and universities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York have added natural-gas majors or job-training programs. 

Five community colleges have formed a coalition, called ShaleNET, that aims to prepare job-seekers for the jobs that are opening because of the boom, which is driven by the relatively new technique of deep horizontal “fracking” — drilling horizontal shafts deep underground, then blasting water and chemicals into them to break up the surrounding shale, which allows the trapped natural gas to percolate to the surface. 

ShaleNET is funded by a three-year, $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. 

The job-training efforts are important, because without them, drilling companies would be more likely to fill their good-paying jobs with experienced workers from other states. 

Putting good jobs in the reach of low-skilled workers also broadens the benefits of the gas boom. 

Academic options are coming for employees at all levels of the growing industry. 

They range from two-week courses that offer a certification in drilling-site basics to master’s and doctoral programs in science and engineering. 

This nimble response to a changing job marketplace is exactly what community colleges are designed to do: help people improve their career prospects and earning potential. 

Read this and other articles at the Columbus Dispatch