One of Pittsburgh’s own has been selected to serve on the recently formed White House Council for Community Solutions. Manchester Bidwell Corp. CEO Bill Strickland will serve on the 25-member council with other representatives from around the country.

“The purpose of the council is to try to identify leading best practices in the country to solving community issues,” Strickland said. “The president was interested in finding programs around the country that are getting results for youth particularly.”

BILL STRICKLAND

Strickland has had a long history of working with youth through his leadership over Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Bidwell Training Center, and National Center for Arts and Technology. He has also played a key role in the creation and maintenance of MBC’s operational affiliate centers in Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio, Grand Rapids, Mich., and San Francisco, Calif.

Devaughn McNary wants to be a doctor when he grows up. Though he isn’t exactly sure what type of doctor he will be, he and the 11 other 7th grade boys in the Gateway Medical Society Youth Mentorship Program are well on their way to achieving their goal.

“One thing I learned is there are many different types of physicians. The type of physician I want to be is either a pediatrician or an obstetrician,” McNary said. “All of the things I learned will help me one day be a doctor and help those in need.”

LEADERS AND MENTORS—Back row, from left: David A. Anderson, DDS, MDS; Mark Brentley, Morris Turner, Chentis Pettigrew Jr., EdD. Front row, from left: Rhonda Moore Johnson, MD; Jan Madison, MD; Annette Edwards, MD; Helen A. Davis, MD; Margaret D. Larkins-Pettigrew, MD and Carmen Anderson. (Photos by Rossano P. Stewart)

Before they even reach high school, young boys in the GMS Youth Mentorship Program will have a head start on other youth hoping to enter the medical field. The program pairs them with doctors in various specialties to show them the ins and outs of the profession and how to get there.

Five years ago, Dr.  Jerome Canady, helped contribute to a revival in McKeesport when his company Canady Technology, LLC brought nearly 50 jobs to the area, with the potential to double that number in two years time. Three years later, Canady was forced to shut down operations in McKeesport as a result of a series of costly lawsuits, choking his business’ resources.

JEROME CANADY

“We shut down the operation in December 2008,” Dr. Canady said. “There was no money to spend on inventory or running the company because it was going to litigation. It cost us $4 million.”

Now Dr. Canady sits on the tail end of a litigation victory that dragged his company in and out of court for patent infringement. On Dec. 9, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled against ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH and ERBE in favor of Canady Tech.

As the New Pittsburgh Courier reported last week, the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board analysis of jobs posted in the greater Pittsburgh area found that most available jobs require more than a high school diploma, but less than a college degree.

The top occupational clusters in the study; Management; Computer and Mathematical; Sales and Related; Office and Administrative Support; and Healthcare Practitioners and Technical, all offer average wages well above the $28,500 considered to be a family-sustaining wage.

SALEEM GHUBRIL

With these unfilled positions in several fields requiring, in some cases, no more than on-the-job training, and in others less than even a two-year degree, the Courier asked workforce developers if their job counseling and training efforts should alter their focus and if so, how.