Displaced Sony Corp. employees will have job opportunities, even in a global recession, because of a demand for skilled workers in the region, job training experts predict.
"There's an acute shortage of welders and machinists ... and a number of manufacturers are having trouble finding them," said Lee Taddonio, president of SMC Business Councils, a Churchill-based organization representing smaller businesses in Pennsylvania.
Although some of the demand for skilled workers has slackened in the past few months amid the recession, a number of manufacturers are hiring, especially in those trades, Taddonio said. Right now, those firms can't find enough people to fill good-paying jobs with benefits, he said.
Area officials say that should come as good news to workers at Sony, where no timetable has been given for the layoffs of 560 employees.
"My first concern is for the people," said Larry Larese, Westmoreland County's planning director. He said the state is working to put together a solid retraining package for Sony employees, and area agencies are researching employment opportunities.
Anthony Gebicki, site administrator of PA CareerLink Westmoreland County at Westmoreland County Community College, said the layoffs will be different than those that occurred last year when Sony laid off 500 people and moved production of some of its TV sets to Mexico.
These layoffs will occur over months, which might make it easier for the employees to be absorbed into the work force.
There is cautious optimism that the displaced workers will find jobs locally.
Chuck Ardo, spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell, said the state has reached out to find suitable tenants for the Sony site. He added that some companies -- including one involved in alternative energy -- are attracted to the area because of its people.
"There are companies ... that are interested in coming to Southwestern Pennsylvania because the work force has a reputation for both its preparedness and its willingness to work hard," Ardo said.
F. Michael Langley, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, said a number of jobs are open in the region.
He noted the group's job search portal, Imaginemynewjob.com, which debuted this year, lists more than 30,000 open positions in the 10-county Pittsburgh region. More than 25,000 are full-time positions, and more than half pay $40,000 a year or more, he said.
Langley said PittsburghProspector.com, a free online database of commercial real estate properties introduced in January 2007, will add the Sony plant as soon as company officials provide necessary information. The site feeds into a national and international database used by consultants, companies and others involved in plant expansion and relocation efforts.
"It will provide what people need to know about the building to those people who want to know about the building," he said. "We expect there will be a lot of interest in the site."
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