— Working in the natural gas fields of Pennsylvania is not for the faint of heart.

It is physically challenging, often with high levels of expertise required.

Enter ShaleNET, a recruitment, training, placement and retention program for jobs in the Marcellus Shale gas industry.

Funded through a $4.9 million U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration grant – the largest awarded nationally through this federal source – ShaleNET is based on a consortium of community colleges with two hubs.

The Westmoreland County Community College, which is administering the grant, and Penn State’s Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport are coordinating the training for potential gas field workers coming from 69 counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

The colleges were chosen because they are located in geographical areas representing the highest volume of Marcellus drilling in the multistate region, said Tracy Brundage, managing director of Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Penn College.

“They represent the most activity of permits requested,” she said, “the most activity of drilling.”

Minor hubs have been established at West Virginia Northern Community College and Eastern Gateway Community College, in Ohio, said Byron Kohut, director of the Westmoreland hub of ShaleNET.

A third minor hub will be located at Broome County Community College in New York – if that state lifts its ban on Marcellus drilling.

ShaleNET is designed to assist the unemployed, the dislocated, low-income workers, youth and veterans in finding jobs within the Marcellus industry.

An example of ShaleNET’s offerings is roustabout pre-employment training: Two levels of welding, rough terrain forklift certification and commercial driver training.

Future programs will involve training in such areas as well operator/tender, well control worker, welder’s helper, instrumentation and calibration.

Kohut said the training is in the development phase, but the success of the program is evident.

WCCC has completed two roustabout courses for previously unskilled workers.

Of the 29 graduates, 24 have been placed with drilling companies, he said.

The number of jobs in the gas fields will be heaviest on the front end of the Marcellus industry, Brundage said. But there still will be jobs during the production phase, which could span several decades.

What ShaleNET has learned is that the direct work force on a single well requires about 410 individuals representing 150 different occupations.

In addition, an average of 20 to 30 subcontracting companies are utilized per well, Brundage said.

For most of the workers, the jobs are highly physical with few days off during the drilling process.

“It is extremely challenging, long days – more than what we’re traditionally accustomed to in Pennsylvania,” Brundage said. “The drilling companies are interested in hiring Pennsylvania residents. Their intent is to hire Pennsylvania workers. But they are having difficulty getting people with the right expectations.”

As a result, drilling companies are finding some of the best workers are veterans and farmers who are familiar with long days and physically demanding work, she said.

Susan Whisler, director of the workforce investment board of the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission, anticipates training in tasks such as welding and commercial truck driving to be in high demand.

She cautioned that workers need to be prepared for new experiences to succeed in the drilling industry.

“It’s very important these individuals understand the kind of lifestyle changes,” Whisler said. “This is a whole different culture, a whole different lifestyle.”

Southern Alleghenies is one of the 16 workforce investment boards in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia involved in training.

While the Marcellus hasn’t had much impact on Southern Alleghenies’ six counties, which include Cambria and Somerset, training money is available for those who qualify, Whisler said.

A Marcellus ShaleNET publication sums up gas field potential employee qualifications:

“Candidates in these positions need to be dependable, have attention to detail, a high stress tolerance, self-control, leadership skills, be adaptable, be able to work cooperatively with other workers, show independence, initiative and innovation, and must be able to pass a drug test.”