West Virginia Coal Association representative Chris Hamilton announced to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Workforce Investment this week that his organisation was making headway on ventures to open two educational programs with the West Virginia Mining Extension Service and the Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.

“There is an immediate need to train 1800-2500 in the next 18 months,” said Hamilton. “The need is real.”

With the average age of miners hovering around 55, the expected wave of retirements already underway is expected to continue. However, the number of educational mining programs in the US and worldwide has dropped dramatically in recent years.

According to Hamilton, some 5000-7000 miners will need to be hired in the US in the next 10 years to keep up with demand.

Consol has donated its facility, Dawles Run Mine Training Academy, for one of the two new schools. The Morgantown academy has been closed since the industry bust of the 1980s.

The second school, managed by Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, will begin by holding classes on its existing campus as it seeks a facility in the state’s Mingo/Logan area to function long-term.

The schools’ openings have been delayed by the application process to obtain a portion of a $US18 million US Department of Labor grant earmarked for energy production-sector job training.

Workforce West Virginia representative Ron Radcliff said delaying the project any further could affect the state’s ability to benefit from the strong upswing in an industry that was typically volatile. “I’m very concerned we cannot act more rapidly to respond to demand.”

While there was a delay in a Department of Labor grant, Radcliff said he was confident the state would qualify and the funding received by month’s end.