CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Patrick Morrisey makes more announcements about new energy and technology projects coming to West Virginia, the state’s construction leaders are taking notice.
Contractors Association of West Virginia CEO Jason Pizatella believes there could be a boom on the way for his industry.
“We’re kind of looking at a potential ‘Golden Age’ over the next four or five years. We thought ‘Roads To Prosperity’ from 2018 to 2022 was a ‘Golden Age,’ but we might be getting into another ‘Golden Age’ as far as the building construction is concerned,” he said on MetroNews Talkline last week.
The most significant recent announcement makes West Virginia one of six states in the mix for the federal Nuclear Lifecycle Campus initiative. Pizatella said adding that to projects like the Nucor Steel plant and Monarch Compute Campus in Mason County will create steady growth.
“The majority of them are West Virginia workers, or they are in an adjacent county to West Virginia, and they’re spending the money in West Virginia during those construction projects,” he said.
Pizatella views the upcoming developments as an opportunity to grow the state’s population as well. The ongoing projects have brought more workers into the state, and he hopes that the new ones will keep them here.
“While we have a lot of workers that are here locally, we have some that are not from West Virginia that have made West Virginia their home for the last couple of years because of the projects that are currently under way, and I hope they stay,” he said.
The need for population growth is nothing new in West Virginia, and Pizatella envisions a domino effect from the new projects to the population to local economies. He said that major construction plans bring more than just jobs.
“When you add almost 1,000 construction worker jobs, those aren’t just contractors. Those also include those who support contractors, whether it’s equipment suppliers, insurance providers, workman’s comp providers, lawyers, or banks—all of the companies that make our construction enterprise work,” he said.
The Contractors Association of West Virginia is already taking steps to make sure workers are prepared to get to work on new developments. Training for specialized jobs is already available through members.
“They have to be trained to do that, and we have member companies that, in addition to the state of West Virginia, will pay for employees to go out and get that credential so they will stay with that member company,” he said.