Reimagining WV coal country by building on states legacy as an energy provider /

By Ramona Schindelheim for Working Nation.
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service reporting for the Working Nation-Public News Service Collaboration

As the country transitions to green energy, and natural gas has become more affordable, the appetite for coal continues to fade. By 2025, electricity powered by solar energy is forecast to jump significantly in the United States, while coal production is expected to hit its lowest level since the 1960s.

Employment in the coal mining industry has been on a steady downward path since the mid-1980s when there were 178,000 people employed in the industry. Compare that to roughly 43,000 today.

For regions like Appalachia, once the country’s leader in coal production, the impact is stark. West Virginia – the only state entirely in the Appalachian region – has been particularly hard hit.

At $27,346, its per capita income level is the second-lowest in the country, only slightly bigger than Mississippi. Its labor participation rate of 54.8% is also one of the lowest in the country and many young people are leaving the state to find opportunities elsewhere.

It’s those kinds of financial realities that are the driving force behind a new generation of West Virginians determined to stay put and rebuild Appalachia’s economy.

“We’re not here to demonize the coal industry. We’re here to build upon its legacy and continue our birthright to produce energy, but through new tools,” says Jacob Hannah, CEO of the nonprofit Coalfield Development, which is training and hiring workers in growing industries.

Embracing a Diversified Economy That is Creating Jobs

“When folks look at Appalachia, you hear a lot about the loss of jobs, loss of employers, due to the coal companies shutting down and other companies shutting down because of that. There’s a large amount of people who have given up looking for work because there’s either not a lot of employment near their isolated community in Appalachia, or they’ve been impacted by the dilapidation of coal,” explains Hannah.

Coalfield Development serves 21 counties in southern West Virginia and is headquartered in Huntington, one of the cities hardest hit by the opioid overdose epidemic.

“We focus on hiring people facing barriers to employment and connecting them to our personal, professional, and academic development model. These are folks coming out of incarceration, coming out of recovery, and coming from being laid off from the coal mines or other industries.”

Hannah says there’s a combination of need and opportunity right now in West Virginia and the nonprofit’s strategy is to learn from the past and move away from an economy that was so dependent on one industry.

“Our solution to avoiding those challenges, and reversing some of the damage, is to go from a mono economy to a diversified economy where there’s multiple opportunities and multiple markets that can bring up the workforce.”

The nonprofit wholly or partially owns a number of employment-based social enterprises, “enterprises that exist for the purpose of advancing the well-being of its employees.”

It’s through these businesses that Coalfield Development offers paid on-the-job training in what it sees as industries with a future in West Virginia, including renewable energy, construction, manufacturing, re-use and recycling, and agriculture.

“We have what you would call ‘brain drain’ in the region. A lot of people in their 20s have left for other opportunities. That leaves a large swath of people either just coming out of high school, or folks in their 30s or older. We’ve had trainees as old as in their 60s,” says Hannah.

He adds, “There’s no shortage of people that need jobs and there’s no shortage of employers that need the people. It’s a matter of connecting the two.”

The most comprehensive program requires a three-year commitment. Workers receive 33 hours a week of paid on-the-job training, six hours of community college to obtain an associates degree, and three hours of mentoring and coaching to remove barriers such as regaining a driver’s license for people who might be justice-impacted. A shorter model offers paid on-the-job training as an introduction to one of the sectors, along with mentoring support for six months.

“You’re also in a union job, so it’s paying good wages with good benefits,” says Hannah.

There is also a free one-month program offered around in-demand industries such as solar energy and construction. “They’re not on our payroll. They’re community individuals that are looking for information on a topic that aligns with the employment demand in the community or region,” he adds.

Mining the Sun in West Virginia

Coalfield Development has hired more than 1,700 people for local jobs through its training programs since its…