Addressing a Skilled Labor Shortage

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A regional economic development agency has launched a new, talent incentive program designed to build a skilled technician pipeline that will link approved training providers with hi-tech employers.

Ohio SE Economic Development President and CEO Matt Abbott shared how the goals of his agency, which acts as a regional arm of Jobs Ohio, implements economic strategies that have proven successful in other areas of the state.  

“Today’s announcement I think is a very important one, the Jobs Ohio Technician Path,” Abbott said. “And it is an opportunity for companies to be able to train some of their workforce, where the worker, the employee can earn and learn. So learning a technical aspect, a technical trade. So these fields could be healthcare, to distribution and logistics, energy… you know, so a list of different things. I think the benefit is vast.”

As Ohio looks to reestablish itself as an industrial powerhouse, employers are looking to invest in a skilled labor force that is knowledgeable with the equipment and procedures that are needed to make their operations successful.   

“If businesses are interested in learning more about this Technician Path that’s been created, please look on the website at Jobs Ohio,” Abbott said. “They can reach out to our organization to ask questions. But again, I think it’s going to be very popular. So really the first companies that are able to get in on the front end, you know, would be guaranteed to be able to take advantage of the program.”

CNBC has ranked Ohio as the number one state for doing business and Jobs Ohio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef stated in a video clip, which was shown during the meeting that for every job posted, there are five positions needing to be filled.