TRWIB is regularly featured in newspaper and blog articles, television news and radio segments.
The most recent contributions are featured below:
Business Forum: Employers need to engage our youth
We know the best way to learn to work is by working. However, there is a silent crisis emerging in our region. While our economy continues to strengthen with positive movement in the housing and stock markets, little attention is being given to the decline in meaningful professional experience for our children.
Workforce Investment Board kicks off career week
While all the mayoral candidates were busy talking about creating jobs, the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board was launching its 7th annual Imagine Career Week focused on mentoring, training and inspiring youth to get ready for the estimated 3 million permanent science, technology, engineering mathematics (STEM) careers that will need to be filled in the energy field alone.
New skills anticipated as health care evolves
Meet the new health care professionals.
They are comfortable with technology and using data. They are part doctor, part nurse, part home-health aide. They are team players with excellent communication skills.
Call these people community-health workers, and they have gotten the attention of Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board Inc.
Teenage joblessness can hurt in future
Parents today will be exposing their children to the working world during Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, but much more important lessons about employment are learned when those children enter the labor force.
Fox 53 covers Imagine! Career Week at Pittsburgh TechShop
Fox 53 covers Imagine! Career Week at Pittsburgh TechShop.
Imagine! Career Week and Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day
Stefani Pashman, 3RWIB CEO, discusses Imagine! Career Week and Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day with KDKA-AM's Bill Rehkopf.
Tech careers put in focus at Imagine! Career Week
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board opened its seventh annual event at the science center for the first time, in order to emphasize the importance of job preparation in science, technology, engineering and math — or “STEM,” as some call it.
Imagine! Career Week Kicks Off, Seeks to Prepare Area Youth for Jobs
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board kicked off its eighth annual Imagine! Career Week Monday morning with 120 employers, educators and community partners seeking to prepare area youth to step into the many jobs now held by people nearing retirement.
Bring Your Child to Work on Thursday
The fourth Thursday of April is Take Your Child To Work Day, and lands on April 25 this year.
This is the 20th anniversary of Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day—as it is officially called. This year's theme is "work in progress." Click here to view a copy of the Congress and Senate resolution dedicating April 25 as Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day.
Stefani Pashman and Kevin Perkey discuss Imagine! Career Week on techVIBE radio
Stefani Pashman and Kevin Perkey discuss Imagine! Career Week with Audrey Russo and Charlie Batch on techVIBE radio. Click to listen
7th Annual Imagine! Career Week Announced for April 22-26, 2013
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (3RWIB) has announced plans for its 7th annual Imagine! Career Week, being held from April 22-26, 2013. Sponsored by Citizens Bank Foundation, Imagine! Career Week celebrates the diversity of career opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region and helps students consider a wide range of career fields.
2013 Imagine! Career Week announced in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board will host the seventh annual Imagine! Career Week April 22-26 to promote a diversity of careers found in the region.
Three Rivers WIB and Citizens Bank Foundation announces 2013 Imagine! Career Week
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board and Citizens Bank Foundation announces 2013 Imagine! Career Week
Health care scholarships target region’s pressing needs
The nursing shortage in the United States has been well-documented and well-publicized. Registered nurses represent the largest health care occupation with more than 2.6 million jobs nationally, and the employment of registered nurses is expected to grow by 22 percent or more by 2018, according to the Department of Labor, in spite of the recent recession.
Employers develop programs to promote internal candidates
As the wave of baby boomers nears retirement, manufacturers are discovering they not only have a skills gap when it comes to production jobs, but also mid-level and senior management positions.
dck Names Joe Belechak First Worldwide Chief Operating Officer
dck worldwide, parent company of dck pacific construction, announced the promotion of Joe Belechak to Chief Operating Officer of the company. Belechak joined dck back in October 2012.
Issue One: The State of the Union
3 Rivers WIB CEO Stefani Pashman comments on the State of the Union address in this letter to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Fast Trackers 2003 - Where are they now? Laura Ellsworth
What advice would you have for young professionals looking to move up in their careers?
“Here’s my top 10. First, remember the advice your mom gave you at the dinner table: ‘Try everything on your plate and never say you don’t like it until you’ve tried it.’ Second, there is no substitute for the investment of time. You have to invest a tremendous amount of time, in the office, outside the office, at 3 a.m. when you wake up thinking of how to solve a work problem. The more you experience, the more people you meet, the more you learn, the more you think about creative solutions to problems, the better you will be, and all those things take time.
Auberle seeks more partners for youth training program
This story by Malia Spencer of the Pittsburgh Business Times focuses on Auberle's work to create or modify training programs aimed at preparing young people for jobs.
JHF grants focus on education, services to underserved
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation recently announced its annual grantmaking and refers to its relationship with Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
Firing workers over 40: Don’t get caught in lawsuit
TRWIB's aging workforce report, "Does Age Matter," referenced in this article by the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Pittsburgh region's hiring outlook looking up for 2013
The hiring outlook for Pittsburgh in 2013 appears to be strong.
Female Employment Strong, but in Few Industries
A Pittsburgh-based study is showing females in the region tend to pursue careers in a select number of fields, while men are represented in more industries.The analysis is part of Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board's (TRWIB) research on various segments in the labor industry.
When Pittsburgh men lost jobs in the '80s, women stepped in to save economy
Bernadette Collins was 24 and a newlywed when her husband, a steelworker, was laid off from his job in 1982.
Unemployment Agency: $300 million Hard to Track
Limited employer engagement, failure to identify and share best practices, and programs operating below capacity are only a few factors causing problems for those trying to help the unemployed in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Fewer workers stay in 1 job their whole careers
When Edward Gerjuoy started teaching at the University of Pittsburgh in 1964, the Beatles had invaded America, boys played with a new G.I. Joe action figure and a generation reared on the make-believe of television faced harsh Cold War realities.
TRWIB's newest board members recognized in Pittsburgh Business Times
TRWIB's newest board members were recognized in the People and Awards section of the online Pittsburgh Business Times.
Panel: Pittsburgh Job Market, Atmosphere Attractive to Young Adults
Pittsburgh's diverse labor market and small-city atmosphere make it attractive to young people, according to a panel at the University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday, but the city should do more to attract young adults of diverse ethnicities, and local youngsters should vote more often.
Jobs report challenges 'pervasive' skills gap
A recent job description for a lab technician described the requirements: a bachelor's degree in chemistry or biology, a year of work experience in light manufacturing, the knowledge and ability to mix chemicals, the ability to operate a fork lift, lift heavy boxes and work with hazardous materials.
What did it pay? $15 to $17 an hour.
Connect industry, youths (Letter to the Business Editor)
The Sept. 28 article "Production Jobs Rare For Young Workers" sheds light on a growing concern for some of the region's key employment sectors -- older workers with jobs in manufacturing, education and health care are expected to leave jobs faster than employers can find qualified younger workers to replace them.
Pittsburgh needs youth to replace our rapidly retiring workforce, study says
Pittsburgh is facing a critical shortage of younger workers ready to move into jobs that will become available as a result of retirements in the workforce in the next 10 years. What can we do about it?
Construction firm owner works to get younger workers in the mix
When Stephen Shelton looks ahead to that moment in the future when he will hand his construction company over to his son, he sees trouble.
The company has a good stable of reliable employees, but they are all in their 40s and 50s. There are no younger workers in the pipeline to take over those jobs.
Pittsburgh Region's Workforce Aging Fast
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) has issued a report on the aging of the region’s labor pool warning of a future shortage of workers. The report finds the region will be faced with a high number of retirements in the future and not enough qualified younger workers to fill critical jobs in key sectors like manufacturing, education, health care, and the trades.
Production jobs rare for younger workers
Young people in the Pittsburgh region are facing a future with fewer opportunities to garner skills, just as the population of older skilled workers is heading toward retirement.
Younger workers needed to bolster aging workforce
Older workers are leaving jobs faster than employers can find qualified younger workers to replace them.
That’s the conclusion of a report the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board released on Thursday that said the gap is expected to widen significantly in the next decade and impact the local economy.
3 Rivers Workforce Investment Board releases latest report, “Does Age Matter?”
PITTSBURGH, PA, (September 27, 2012) — Is age really just a number? When it comes to the age of the region’s workforce, numbers mean plenty.
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) today released its report, “Does Age Matter? Workforce aging and its implication for collaborative talent management in the Pittsburgh region,” and identified a disturbing scarcity of skills for critical occupations in the Pittsburgh region.
Pittsburgh's workforce aging faster than the rest
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board is making the taboo assertion that age does matter when it comes to our region’s workforce.
2-year college numbers decline
Enrollment at community colleges across the country is declining, a pretty good sign that the nation’s economy is picking up, school administrators said.
Technical skills in demand
Most jobs in Western Pennsylvania do not require a four-year college degree, including jobs in the burgeoning energy sector. But area institutions are doing a poor job of conveying that message to job seekers, said job-training experts who met Downtown on Monday.
U.S. employment chief coming here Monday
On Monday, Jane Oates, assistant secretary for employment and training in the U.S. Department of Labor, is coming to Pittsburgh to talk with representatives of local governments, community colleges, labor unions and businesses about jobs in the energy sector.
Youth summer jobs shrink by 55 percent
Summer employment opportunities for high school students in the Pittsburgh area have shrunk by more than 55 percent since 2000, reflecting statewide and national trends, according to a new report by the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
College isn't always the answer to a good job
Letter to the editor by Stefani Pashman, TRWIB CEO
Workforce Innovation Grants Announced Media Advisory
Please click here to read the media advisory related to US Department of Labor Sec. Hilda Solis' visit to Pittsburgh to announce $147 million in Workforce Innovation Grants.
Are we overqualifying ourselves for the jobs available?
TRWIB President Joe Belechak discusses the region's supply-demand disconnect with Buddy Hobart of the American Entrepreneur.
Youth Employment the Focus of Events in Pittsburgh this Week
The 6th Annual Imagine! Career Week kicked off Monday in Pittsburgh and included a breakfast on Tuesday with Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis. The goal of the week is to expose Pittsburgh youth ages 14-24 to a wide range of career options.
Focus on skills employers need rather than degrees
Jamie Merisotis' April 22 Forum commentary ("Pittsburgh Needs More Skilled Workers: Without Them, the Region Will Fall Far Behind International Competitors") makes a strong case for solid postsecondary education.
Post-recession employment dynamics brought the issue of college education to the center of attention -- those with more education spent less time on unemployment rolls. But does that mean that everyone should go to college?
Business Forum: Graduates should dream, build upon their passions
In the holiday special "It's A Wonderful Life," George Bailey is on his way home from a high school dance and tells his date, Mary, that he knows exactly what he is going to do with the rest of his life -- tomorrow, the next day and every day after that. This character had a specific plan that would lead him to a career building tall skyscrapers in great cities.
Res-Care taling with Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board is negotiating with Louisville, Ky.-based Res-Care Inc. to provide job help programs in Allegheny County.
Career Week kicks off today for local students
Today is the kickoff of the sixth annual Imagine! Career Week, eight days of career-related events that put the focus for young people on life after school.
Annual Career Week Focuses On Pathways To Regional Jobs
The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) is holding its 6th annual “Imagine! Career Week,” which involves job-related programs for people of all ages in the Pittsburgh region from April 26th to May 4th.
From Iraq to Pittsburgh seeking work
Nine years ago this month, as the Iraq War began, Samir Alqass was working in his electronics store in Baghdad, unaware of the contortions his professional and personal paths were about to take.
Number of refugees calling western Pennsylvania home grows
Pittsburgh has two populations in need of a bridge: a business community looking for qualified candidates with technical expertise, and a growing population of refugees looking to return to their former professions in some of the same fields that are in high demand around these parts.
Shell's Beaver County plant likely to spark tech jobs
An ethylene cracking plant that Shell Oil Co. could build in Beaver County's Potter Township may generate hundreds of technical jobs that would demand a chemistry-savvy workforce, experts said Friday.
Health care tech workers in high demand
A high percentage of older adults in the region means hospitals need support staff to monitor heart-related ailments, so cardiac monitor technicians are among the most in-demand technical jobs, officials say.
Read more: Health care tech workers in high demand - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_782536.html#ixzz1p6xoaSe0
Lack of winter weather this season a plus for many
Winter for the Pittsburgh region came in like a lamb in December with an average temperature of 37.5 degrees -- 5.1 degrees above the monthly average -- and snowfall of 1.2 inches, well below the normal monthly average of 8.3 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Above-average temperatures have continued in January and February. With a little more than four weeks before spring, some businesses are benefiting from the mild season while others are hoping for the perfect storm to ice roadways, freeze pipes and, potentially, help their bottom lines.
Gov. Tom Corbett outlines proposals to boost job growth in Pennsylvania
For Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania’s economic salvation lies in new jobs, and the state’s role is to partner with industry to create and retain those jobs. To that end, the governor outlined a handful of new jobs-related programs in his 2012-2013 fiscal year budget.
Budget for Higher Education Cuts Community Colleges a Break
Last year, Governor Tom Corbett’s budget called for an 18 percent reduction in funding for Pennsylvania state schools. The governor’s 2012-2013 budget that was unveiled Tuesday slashed appropriations by 20 percent for the 14 state-owned universities.
Educators stressing career preparation in science and industry
Until about a year ago, Clay Sheffield wasn't much into science -- just like a lot of classmates at Trafford Middle School, he said. Now he's thinking of careers in medicine, and maybe life as an army medic.
He started thinking differently last year in sixth grade, inspired by his science teacher's lessons about the great scientists who've studied the animal kingdom.
Labor Market Information Release for January 2012
TRWIB's monthly Labor Market Information update for January 2012
Personnel Moves
The following have been appointed to the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
Retraining one answer to job loss situation
Tamika Macon Akers is the model of the Great Recession success story.
Before the economic downturn, Miss Akers had the type of job that defined security. She was a data entry clerk for the U.S. Postal Service. She expected to retire from the job with a nice pension after spending a few decades in a position that she said was mind-numbing.
Then came 2008. In September of that year, the extent of the recession started to become clear as Wall Street firms began to melt down.
Miss Akers, 35, of Forest Hills, lost her job, along with 476 co-workers in November 2008. In January, she started a program at Community College of Allegheny County for dislocated workers, which waived her tuition and trained her in biotechnology.
Business forum: Matching jobless to available work
The Bloomberg News Dec. 16 story "Skills 'Mismatch' Said to Hinder Hiring" details the national workforce supply-demand disconnect believed to be caused by the misalignment of people's talents and available jobs.
That same mismatch is prevalent here, challenging the Pittsburgh region's post-recession growth. The demand for skilled workforce grows.
Pittsburgh's biggest employers looking to fill more than 5,600 positions
Almost all of Pittsburgh’s 50 largest employers are looking to grow, and their combined needs outstrip the past two years. All told, they have 5,619 open positions, up 23 percent from 4,574 a year ago and almost 73 percent from 3,254 in December 2009.
Three Rivers Workforce board names new officers
Eight local people have been named to the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
December 2011 Newsletter
TRWIB's monthly e-newsletter for December 2011
Innovation, Evolution and Improvement
Innovation, evolution and improvement marked 2011 for Pittsburgh Regional Compact Member The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB). Here are some key highlights of what was accomplished, who helped and where we're heading from here.
Calgon Carbon’s UV division on a growth spurt
It’s going to get a little more crowded at the Calgon Carbon Corp. .. offices in Findlay Township, as the company plans to hire about 100 more people.
Enhancing opportunity
Kim Leonard's news story "Columbia Gas' pipeline project replaces aging infrastructure" (Nov. 13 and TribLIVE.com) sheds light on a significant challenge facing the region's natural gas industry. No one doubts the benefit of replacing tired, rusting infrastructure. And as the story points out, these projects create jobs. Problem is, there aren't enough men and women ready and able to fill the positions.
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board taking over city, county job-training programs
Hope for Santana Hammond’s future came in the form of a flier she found tucked in her door one afternoon.
Her first try at post-secondary education ended when not even intensive tutoring could save her grade point average, she said. She chalks up the experience to learning and teaching styles that didn’t mesh.
The Left-Behinds
How three decades of flawed economic thinking have helped to create record numbers of long-term unemployed and undermine America’s middle class.
Laid-Off Pennsylvania Bank Workers to Receive Job Retraining, Placement Assistance
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The state will invest up to $504,000 in National Emergency Grant funds to provide re-employment services to approximately 115 former workers from the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Secretary of Labor & Industry Julia Hearthway said today.
TRWIB seeks proposals for workforce services
PITTSBURGH - With more than 83,000 people in the Pittsburgh area unemployed in September 2011, the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) today released a Request for Proposal (RFP), seeking qualified bidders to provide workforce services for adults and dislocated workers in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
$504,000 grant for retraining after Federal Reserve layoffs
The 115 workers who lost their jobs at the Pittsburgh branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland because of the consolidation of U.S. savings bonds operations are eligible for job retraining.