Human Capital

Investments in improving human capital were considered the most significant opportunity for improvement in West Virginia, especially because access to a specialized workforce is a significant factor for investment attraction in the sectors targeted for growth. The analysis considered three primary dimensions of human capital: 

• West Virginia’s future talent pool  
  
• The health and skills of the current workforce 
  
• The ability of companies in West Virginia to recruit talent from outside
  

West Virginia’s level of educational attainment, and particularly the volume of STEM graduates per year is lower than surrounding states (14% STEM graduates vs. 18.5% in VA and 23% in MD) ^[91] (Exhibit 22). Given the fact that positions that are hardest to fill by employers are in the majority STEM occupations, there is an opportunity to better match labor demand and supply in the State 

Labor force participation has been declining, and less than half of working-age people are actively seeking employment in some counties of the State (Exhibit 23). Similarly, unemployment is higher than in neighboring states (Exhibit 24) 

 

 

Four drivers likely explain those trends: 

• Among neighboring states, West Virginia has the highest percentage of population with a disability (22%) and the highest percentage of them out of the labor force (80%) (Exhibit 25).
  

  

  
  
• West Virginia also has the lowest percentage of women participation in the labor force (62%) across all US states (Exhibit 26)
  

  

  
  
• There is a mismatch between labor supply and demand, with employers reporting that it is necessary to hire people from out of state for occupations such as nursing, because unemployed workers are not receiving support and retraining to fill positions in growing industries 
  
• The opioid crisis has affected the ability of a large portion of the population to participate in the job market. In fact, between 2013 and 2015, West Virginia has witnessed a 47% increase in the prevalence of deaths from drug overdose, which is currently the highest in the nation and around 2.5 times higher than the national average (32.4 drug-related death per 100 thousand residents vs. national average of 13.5) ^[97]
  

Large waves of out-migration over the past three years ^[98] have further contributed to a shrinking population and to the loss of talent that was driven by limited job opportunities in sectors such as IT 

Ongoing efforts exist to address these challenges across the State, specifically in relation to increasing workforce participation, but there may be an opportunity to unite and consolidate these efforts under one umbrella that channels resources into human capital priorities for the State in a more coordinated manner. Such a taskforce could bring together the education providers, major employers, and existing institutions working within the human capital space across West Virginia to identify and launch an integrated strategy that address existing challenges to the labor force. Potential activities under each human capital dimension could include:

• To build its future talent pool 
  
  • Increase STEM focus in secondary education by segmenting youth into specific tracks and emphasizing education to employment curricula  
  • Expand the State’s role in vocational training by identify priority occupations and channeling students there, collaborating with the private sector and improving training quality  
  • Support STEM in post-secondary education through sector specific curricula, innovative models to increase capacity and affordability of vocational training, attraction and retention of talented faculty  
• To improve health and skill of existing workforce: 
  
  • Take specific actions for prevention, early intervention and treatment of affected citizens 
  • Increase labor force participation and reduce unemployment through more inclusive work environments (focusing on measures that can increase women participation), considering incentives that can encourage return to employment, a nd retraining unemployed workers in hard to fill occupations that are very similar in skills to their previous job 
• To attract talent from outside West Virginia: 
  
  • Better engage university alumni communities through outreach and initiatives to incentivize return to the State 
  • Take measures to improve quality of life through long term, sustainable investments in improving quality of air and water, healthcare and transportation in the State