Rural workforce focus of symposium held at Penn College
Friday, March 8, 2024
Photos by Cindy D. Meixel, writer/editor-Penn College News
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania held its “Global Pathways for a Thriving Rural Workforce” symposium at Pennsylvania College of Technology on Friday. The daylong event’s goals involve inspiring rural innovation and policy recommendations for rural communities in need of skilled labor forces to boost local livelihoods; filling industrial gaps; and building inclusive communities that will encourage local leadership or international migration.
Penn College President Michael J. Reed joined state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23rd) in welcoming the participants attending in the Bush Campus Center and online. Yaw chairs the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors, as well as the Penn College Board of Directors.
Also leading the morning’s welcome session was Michael Hackett, foreign service officer, U.S. Department of State. A resident master’s student in strategic studies at the Army War College in Carlisle, Hackett’s career has included assignments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Canada, Ukraine, and the Bureau of African Affairs in Washington, D.C.
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a legislative agency of the state General Assembly.
