Though downstream oil and gas manu-
facturing is growing more slowly in West
Virginia than nationally, it also holds a lot
of potential. Leaders in the state are already
working to bring the idea of the Appalachian
Storage Hub to fruition in the region, as well
as additional pipelines and other infrastruc-
ture that will enable producers to supply
shale gas to downstream manufacturers.
With these key areas identified, the next
goal is to act, which is where the West
Virginia Legislature comes into play.
“We want to take these suggestions and
then turn them into legislative actions,” says
Gee. “It does us no good to have something
we spent so much time and energy on and
have it sit on a shelf. We have to keep driving
these ideas forward. Some of these items will
hopefully not only happen but also change
the direction of some of the things that are
going on in the state.”
An Education Engine
While the McKinsey results are in, leaving
state leadership with a long list of house-
keeping items, Gee and WVU are not done
helping move the state forward. One issue
the university will continue to address is
ensuring the state has an educational system
Gee wears a virtual
reality headset while
participating in the Virtual
Human Interaction Lab at
WVU’s Media Innovation
Center. Photography
by Greg Ellis.
that produces high-quality talent. In order
to meet employers’ existing needs and draw
new businesses to the area to create new jobs,
West Virginia must have an educated work-
force. As industries have evolved through
technological advances, higher education has
become a requirement rather than an option.
“Education—particularly a university-
based education—is to this century what
coal mines and steel mills were to the last
century,” says Gee. “The nation has now
created 12.8 million jobs since 2008, and
out of that, only 80,000 require a high school
education or less. What that simply says is
that education is now the engine that will
drive job creation and ingenuity.”
The university will also be proactive in
its efforts to retain young talent in the state.
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