Strengthening the U.S. Workforce Pipeline Through Collaborative Action

Northeast Ohio rallies corporations, educational institutions and workforce organizations to realign the talent demand and supply imbalance

Sydney Martis
Team NEO

Like so many regions across the United States, Northeast Ohio is experiencing an imbalance in workforce demand and supply: Job opportunities abound in growing, high-potential industries, but the current talent pool lacks the appropriate knowledge and skills to fill many of these positions. Economic development, corporate, workforce and education partners have joined forces to address this situation with urgency, working to build a strong, qualified talent pipeline to meet the present and future needs of the region’s businesses.

Fueling this collaborative effort with data, Team NEO has just released the 2019 edition of its Aligning Opportunities in Northeast Ohio report, which sheds light on the workforce imbalance to help shape policies and programming strategies. The report, prepared in partnership with Delta Dental and with generous support from The Sherwin-Williams Company, expands on information provided in the Executive Summary released in July.

Engagement is critical to the success of Northeast Ohio’s workforce development plan. In preparation for the report’s release, Team NEO and Delta Dental held three forums, each focusing on one of the in-demand sectors:  health care, IT and manufacturing. In attendance were educators, business leaders and public officials. We were especially pleased that U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez joined the manufacturing conversation. Additionally, the team is participating in a variety of activities to encourage the region’s youth to work toward academic degrees and postsecondary certifications, partnering with groups such as Junior Achievement.