Ohio is shaking off its rust-belt reputation thanks to a surging tech sector.
Intel’s chief this summer renamed central Ohio the "Silicon Heartland." Electric vehicle production in the Mahoning Valley has some people calling it "Voltage Valley."
But these new industries are running into a growing problem — finding enough workers willing to stay in Ohio.
A recent job fair at Youngstown State University showcased the strain on local manufacturers, companies large and small, trying to fill positions.
Their lament, across industries, is the same.
“We need engineers, assemblers, wire installers," said Mark Rogenski of IES Systems. "It’s just very difficult to find people.”
Nathan Quicksall of W.E. Quicksall & Associates in New Philadelphia felt the same way.
“I’d like to hire two young people and a project manager," he said.
“If I could come out of this job fair with five solid employees, that would be wonderful,” said Debbie Neiferd, human resources manager for parts maker Altronic in Girard.
But she knows it’s a long shot.
“It’s very difficult to find employees now,” she said.
How to sell a job
Neiferd worked to sell a young prospect, sophomore electrical engineering major Paul Sundy, on the benefits of working for a smaller company.
“It’s a very comfortable, relaxed workplace where you can be yourself,” said Neiferd.
But for Sundy, like a lot of Ohioans before him, that probably won't be enough to keep him in the region.
“I’d love to go down South. Carolinas possibly,” said Sundy. "Or wherever the money is.”
The challenge of attracting and keeping workers is hamstringing Ohio’s economy, most economists agree.
By one estimate, manufacturers in Northeast Ohio alone are short by around 10,000 workers.
Nowhere is the problem more acute than the Mahoning Valley.
Generations of population loss
Melissa Maiorano, manager of workforce development for the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce, said the region suffers from the ‘generational trauma’ of plant closings in the 1970’s that cost 40,000 steel workers their jobs.
“A lot of us that live here, and love living here, we have been told, ‘go away, go away to college, get out of this area, there are no jobs here,’” she said.
It's a trend that repeated itself just three years ago when 4,200 GM workers were let go in Lordstown, near Youngstown.
Youngstown’s population is half what it was a generation ago, creating a labor vacuum for the new, high-tech industries that have since set-up shop.
Foxconn is now running three electric vehicle production lines in the former Chevy Cruze factory.
Next door, Ultium Cells, a partnership of General Motors and LG Chem, has built the nation’s largest electric vehicle battery plant.
Maiorano said they are desperate for workers.
Her major selling point is location.
“Our biggest advantage is that we are halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh,” said Maiorano.
Jennifer Oddo, executive director of Workforce Education and Innovation at Youngstown State University, said that message may not be enough to stem the talent drain.
“We've been losing 7.5 people per day for the last 50 years here in the region,” she said.
Ohio, she said, needs to do more to shake off its rust-belt legacy.
“With Intel coming in, with Foxconn looking for workers, we have to cast a much wider net to get people coming back to this region, and back to the state,” said Oddo.
Training workers for the new economy
That’s why Youngstown State and Foxconn in October announced the launch of an electric vehicle training center at the Taiwanese tech-giant’s sprawling Lordstown facility.
“Let's create a hub that becomes the standard center for the entire industry,” said Oddo.
The challenge of attracting and keeping workers is hamstringing Ohio’s economy.
In the meantime, she's ramping up efforts to get local people trained in the basics of modern manufacturing.
Her program teaches basic reading, math and computer skills to get workers with a high school education up to speed.
The demand for workers is so high, Oddo is dipping into the local prison population.
“We have 50 inmates going through our online training programs right now,” she said.
Back at the YSU job fair, Jennifer Cogar, a recruiter with Ultium Cells, which just opened the first of 10 battery production lines, was on the lookout.
Ultium last year said the company needed 1,300 workers.
Cogar said they’re still several hundred short, especially in the skilled trades.
“Maintenance, electricians, HVAC’s … we’ve had a little bit of trouble,” said Cogar.
But for young people thinking about a future in the Mahoning Valley, she has a very different message than a generation ago.
“The opportunities for careers are endless here,” she said. It's something that hasn’t been heard in Youngstown for a very long time.
