Leadership Quote by Bill Shuster

“Central and western Pennsylvania has one of the best workforces in the country” is doing two political jobs at once: flattering a region that’s spent decades being talked about as a casualty of deindustrialization, and preemptively insulating whatever policy follows from accusations of being a handout. Shuster frames workers not as people who need saving, but as an underutilized asset. It’s a classic pro-growth move: validate pride first, then pivot to reform.

The phrase “this will provide job training, new skills and additional resources” is deliberately baggy. Training for what industries? Who pays? Who runs it? Vagueness isn’t a bug here; it’s a coalition-building feature. Workforce development polls well across parties because it promises mobility without directly challenging employers, wages, or the structure of the local economy. “Resources” can mean anything from community college grants to resume workshops, allowing different audiences to hear what they want.

The subtext is a quiet admission that “one of the best workforces” still isn’t translating into stable employment. By placing the burden on skills and training, the line subtly shifts attention away from harder conversations about job quality, automation, union power, and whether there are enough employers willing to invest in the region long-term. It also signals a familiar Rust Belt bargain: if workers adapt, opportunity will follow.

Context matters: a Pennsylvania politician speaking to post-coal, post-steel communities is offering reassurance that the problem isn’t the people. It’s the pipeline. That’s emotionally smart politics, even when the economic diagnosis is selective.