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Mining Coal Country for Tech Workers
Russell County Administrator Jim Gillespie helped lure government contractor CGI-AMS, which plans to hire 300 software engineers for its new tech center.
(By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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"For years we've been losing our brightest and best," said Phillip P. Puckett (D), the state senator who represents Russell County.
In an October ceremony where the high school band played and fried apple pies were carted in by the dozen, CGI-AMS executives announced their new tech facility would be in Lebanon. Warner described it as "the biggest announcement in my tenure as governor."
Two weeks later, the band played again as Northrop Grumman said it would build a 130,000-square-foot data center next to CGI-AMS's site.
In the month that followed CGI-AMS's announcement, more than 600 rsums poured in to the firm's recruiters. Just 15 minutes into the company's official job fair last month, the line of hopeful candidates stretched out the door of a local community college. The company pledged it would hire 90 percent of the new employees locally. About 550 people showed up that day.
For all of Warner's optimism, the long-term impact on Southwest Virginia is uncertain. Stephan J. Goetz, a Pennsylvania State University economist who studies rural areas, said an immediate boost is likely as construction workers move in to build new homes and restaurants pop up to serve residents with more disposable income. Speculation about when a Starbucks will appear is rampant on the streets of Lebanon.
But the change will last, Goetz said, only if other companies and subcontractors settle around the two companies and stay there for years to come.
"Whenever you have a stable source of income, that can really be a boon," Goetz said. "Things like this can really change the face of a community."
But the companies have to stay. In 2001, a call center for Travelocity moved to nearby Clintwood, but three years later it pulled out, leaving 275 people jobless.
Michael Kiser, 18, a senior at Lebanon High School, is hoping the technology centers will help change Lebanon.
"Before this, I always thought I'd have to move away," said Kiser, who wants to be an engineer. "But I'd love to come back here. . . . I want my kids to have the same experience I had."
