CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Speakers at an economic forum in West Virginia urged manufacturers and those responsible for attracting jobs to get tomorrow's workforce interested in their industries at a young age.
With coal industry jobs dwindling and young people leaving the state to find work, speakers at the forum at the Clay Center in Charleston Wednesday stressed workforce training and getting students to take classes that fit the jobs that become available.
David Satterfield of West Virginia University's Office of Research and Economic Development says officials need to help inspire the next generation of workers.
He says 160 fifth graders in Monongalia County will tour some manufacturing facilities in Morgantown on Oct 4. Satterfield says he hopes some of the students will become inspired to get a degree to enter the manufacturing workforce.