Business in Appalachia: What Level of Training Is Needed to Be Competitive?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAs workforce job expectations continue to change due to the advancement of technology and globalization, the skill levels of the workers should continue to expand to keep the United States competitive. The knowledge workers that are in such demand to find positions have a steady career progression. The 309 respondents to this survey provided information on the educational level of their workforces, how much training is provided regardless of formal education and home much training is provided when new technologies are implemented? Statistically significant differences emerged concerning the size of the business, the level of education and the nature of the business.Keywords: Workforce training, Appalachia, Education levels, CompetitivenessINTRODUCTIONThe educational needs for workers in agrarian and industrial economies were low. Able-bodied workers were trained on-the-job to learn a skill that kept them employed for life. With the advent of globalization, technology, and the information economy, there is a need for increased education and skills training to maintain competitive both as a country and as individual workers. A new breed of personnel, the knowledge worker, who collects and manipulates information, constitutes approximately one-third of today's workforce (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2005). Even fields that require extensive manual labor are also seeking greater education and skills to be able to deal with advanced tools and machinery, thereby placing additional demands on workers to develop their skills and enhance their education.These changing workforce expectations dictate the skill levels of the workers must continue to expand to keep the United States competitive and to minimize the loss of jobs due to cheaper overseas labor. A well-educated and trained work force is a critical for efficient and effective operations of business. While outsourcing of jobs can be less costly due primarily to wages, direct customer service positions are in demand and can become a core competency and lead to competitive advantage.Since at least 1960, Appalachia's wages, employment rates, and educational attainment have been lower than the rest of the country (Baumann, 2006). In order to address the problem, information on the composition of the workforce and their educational attainment levels needs to be determined.\PURPOSEThe purpose of this paper is to explore the workforce needs in Appalachia via a comprehensive survey by researchers at a Masters I university located in Western Maryland. The researchers hope to ascertain the current composition of the workforce, determine what are the skill and educational needs of various businesses in the region, and how training workers can lead to competitive advantage.RESEARCH HYPOTHESESH10. There is no difference in the educational requirements for workers in AppalachiaH11. There is a difference in the educational requirements for workers in AppalachiaH20. Regardless of the education of the worker, there is no difference in the amount of time needed for trainingH21. Regardless of the education of the worker, there is a difference in the amount of time needed for trainingH30. There is no difference in the training workers received when new technologies are implementedH31.There is no difference in the training workers received when new technologies are implementedMETHODSTo achieve the aforementioned objectives businesses in the service area were surveyed to identify the percentage of their workforce that has a high school diploma, a 2-year certificate, a 2 year degree (Associates), a 4- year degree (Bachelor's), or an advanced degree. Further, data on the amount of time spent on new and on-going training for each level of educational attainment was solicited. The various business sectors such as manufacturing, retail, construction, wholesale, financial services, health care, and food services are juxtaposed with this data to see if there are any correlations between the needs of the categories of business and the educational levels of the workers. …