Paving way for next Wall Street

SCRANTON – More than $6.5 million in federal funds will go toward preparing students and workers for jobs in the financial services industry in a push to make the region attractive to Wall Street companies looking to expand westward.

Wall Street West, the non-profit partnership behind the training effort, awarded the money Friday to more than 20 schools, career development and job training organizations in a nine-county area.

It was the latest step undertaken by the partnership to allocate a portion of the $15 million in federal dollars it received two years ago for the purpose of developing a skilled workforce.

The finalists announced Friday at the University of Scranton were chosen from 45 proposals, said Chris Haran, a Wall Street West committee member and chief executive officer of the Great Valley Technology Alliance.

The programs will close a development gap determined in an analysis performed for the partnership.

Among the winners was Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It received $374,000 for a program with Wilkes University on workforce readiness. The program creates scholarships for students to attend Junior Achievement’s “Finance Park” and “CEO” programs.

Kathleen Matthews, Junior Achievement president, said the “Finance Park” program has been in practice for a year and caters to middle school students, while the new “CEO” program is for high school students.

The idea is to prepare the students early rather than after they graduate from school, said Matthews.

“We need to start thinking about what’s available to them, what path do they want to take and what needs do the business community have as well.”

Another winner was Misericordia University, which received $167,486 for its “Preparing Tomorrow’s Financial Services Manpower” program. The university will partner with 60 regional school districts, Lackawanna College and Luzerne County and Northampton County community colleges to create an accelerated program for students to move into technical jobs in the financial services industry.

University president Michael A. MacDowell said the program expands one it has already in place to train teachers in 25 school districts how to teach their students financial management.

He added that overall approach by Wall Street West was unprecedented and needed.

“There have been pockets of efforts, but it hasn’t been systemic,” MacDowell said.

He also acknowledged that he was encouraged by the words of the consultant who prepared an asset mapping project for Wall Street West.

Thomas P. Miller, of Thomas P. Miller & Associates, said the initiative is on the right track and shouldn’t change its focus on the financial services industry even with the dire news on the economy.

The strategy was developed shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 shut down Wall Street, explained U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke.

Government agencies recommended that Wall Street establish secure and safe backup operations in case of another catastrophe, and Northeastern Pennsylvania offers such protection. However, the region lacks the workforce required to staff the operations. Wall Street West was created to develop the labor pool, Kanjorski noted.

New York has limited options in terms of growth, and other border states are either too densely populated or unwilling to welcome the added jobs and people.