Consol's River Division, MVCTC Teaming Up to Offer Deckhand
Training Course
Washington
PA Observer Reporter
5 May 2011
By Michael Bradwell, Business editor
mbradwell@observer-reporter.com
Towboats and barges are such a common sight on the area's rivers that
they're almost taken for granted by passersby.
Michael Hughes, general manager of Consol Energy's river operations,
acknowledges that the daily scene of fleets plying the waterways and
hauling coal from area mines and making deliveries to power plants is
usually unremarkable.
"We're a quiet industry unless there's an accident," he said last week.
Hughes said Consol is hoping to boost the profile of working on the
rivers in an effort to recruit people to work as deckhands on its fleet
of 24 towboats that are used to ferry as many as 700 barges in the
silent but vital around-the-clock operation.
The Southpointe-based energy giant has provided start-up money to Mon
Valley Career and Technology Center, and is working with the school to
finalize curriculum for a two-week course for deckhands.
Mark Giovanelli, adult education coordinator for MVCTC, said last week
he hopes to launch the course, which will become a regular offering at
the school, by midsummer. He said he expects around 20 people for the
initial class.
Consol, the leading diversified fuel producer in the Eastern United
States, purchased Mon River Towing and JAR Barge Lines from the Guttman
Group of Belle Vernon in early 2006. The transaction tripled Consol's
towboat fleet and more than doubled the number of barges used to
transport its product. The combination doubled its annual coal-hauling
capacity on the rivers. Hughes said the company also leases additional
barges when it needs them.
But the deckhands needed to man the fleet can be hard to find and keep,
said Hughes and Eric Delsandro, Consol's human resources coordinator
for the river operations division, who acknowledged that the position
is often a transient one.
"It's a lifestyle," Hughes said, explaining that the biggest challenge
to retaining deckhands is the work schedule.
"The biggest challenge is the time away," he said, noting that
deckhands often work two- to four-week stretches, living on the boats
as they make their way up and down the rivers.
Hughes said he also believes interest level about the work is not where
it should be because people lack knowledge about the industry.
With the new course, he said, "We want to paint the whole picture"
about what's involved with working on the rivers.
The company had no problem keeping workers when the economy turned
sour, but now that a turnaround is in progress and other jobs are
becoming available, Hughes said some deckhands are on the move again.
Both Hughes and Delsandro started with the company as deckhands and
worked their way up to their current positions.
As a result, both men said one of the aspects they want to stress with
the advent of the new course is that there is a career path from the
entry-level deckhand that can lead to the position of pilot of a
towboat.
Delsandro said deckhands earn a daily rate of $145, as well as full
benefits.
"They're making in the mid-20s in the first full year, but in six or
seven years, they can be knocking on the door of six figures" by
achieving a pilot's rank, he said.
Hughes said that while the curriculum for the deckhand course is being
finalized, safety will be a major focus, with training in first aid and
CPR planned. The course will culminate with a trip on one of Consol's
towboats.
According to Giovanelli, MVCTC plans to include deckhand training among
its regular course offerings to its adult students.
"We will offer the course as many times as we can throughout the year,"
he said, adding that demand will be the determining factor for its
frequency.
He noted that while Consol has provided the seed money for the course,
those who complete it will earn a certificate and will be eligible to
apply for other jobs related to river transportation, such as the
Gateway Clipper fleet or out-of-state companies, "anywhere where goods
are moved by river."
But there's little worry about the coal industry's need for river
transportation workers diminishing anytime soon, said Hughes, who noted
that Consol is also currently hiring cooks for its towboats.
"The coal industry is a growing industry; it's still on the upturn," he
said. "Our industry is vital to Consol's business."
For more information about the deckhand training course, call Mon
Valley Career and Technology Center at 724-489-9581.