West Virginia is called the Mountain State for good reason. With an average elevation of 1,654 feet and 78 percent of the state covered by forest, flat, developable land near interstates and population centers is hard to come by.
But such things are often necessary to attract big plants and big employers, as West Virginia's leaders who work to entice businesses to expand to our state know.
That's why Procter and Gamble's $500 million investment in Berkeley County is encouraging. About 1,000 people will be needed to construct a 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility, which is expected to employ 300 workers by 2017, and 700 by 2019.
But employing those workers won't be easy. As one company official told the Gazette-Mail's Lori Kersey, the hiring process is lengthy and in-depth, and it usually takes about six to eight weeks from the time a potential employee applies to the first day on the job.
Although Berkeley County is the state's second largest in terms of population and is growing quickly, company officials said they anticipate some difficulty in finding 700 people who are trained, ready to work and able to pass a drug test.
Education can solve one of those issues. P&G is teaming up with Blue Ridge Community and Technical College to create training programs for potential new employees.
Other companies, most notably those in the oil and natural gas industry, have done the same, allowing West Virginia's young adults - or even nontraditional students looking for a career change - to have the opportunity for hands-on training.
The training these programs provide is important. As the Gazette-Mail's Joel Ebert reported, the state continues to rank high in poverty. Berkeley County's poverty rate decreased between 2013 and 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau while its median household income increased. In Kanawha County, the opposite was true.
Despite the disadvantages, West Virginia has made progress in terms of economic growth, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts told Ebert.
"Improving our economic standing is very much within our power to achieve," he said, suggesting the state could reverse the decline in manufacturing, attract banking and insurance companies and obtain more defense contracts.
Although Mother Nature dealt West Virginia some challenges that are hard to overcome, the state's residents and leaders must overcome the state's weaknesses and prepare the work force for the jobs of the future.