NEWS

What kid wouldn't want a high-paying, manufacturing career?

Jessie Balmert

As the demand for skilled trades grows, Sandusky County employers are relying on a time-tested method: apprenticeships.

Dave McElwain looks for bad wires during apprenticeship class at Amcor Rigid Plastics in Bellevue.

Terra State Community College is seeing a surge in companies interested in the customized training provided by the college's Kern Center for Community and Industry Development, according to Beth Hannam, Terra's manager of business and industry training.

"It's another avenue for them to go into when seeking people with skilled trades," said Janet Quaintance, workforce development administrator at Sandusky County Job and Family Services.

Across Ohio, communities are working to connect employers with skilled employees by identifying where candidates' skills are lacking, building relationships between employers and schools, creating niche programs and inspiring children to look at local industries when selecting a career.

The Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation creates regular reports on in-demand jobs, provides career advice through one-stop centers in each county and creates incentives for businesses that work with educational institutions. Last year, six pilot programs received grants to place more than 75 percent of the 500 trainees into jobs by the end of the programs, which range from training health care workers in Appalachian Ohio to insurance workers in central Ohio.

In Marion County, laid-off workers were trained in welding while still receiving food assistance. In Ross County, an area business invested in the hospital's education of nurses to stem the demand for skilled health care workers.

Whirlpool Corporation has 37 candidates completing four-year programs and 19 candidates going through two-year programs, spokeswoman Juliet Johnson said. Their programs vary from electrical and mechanical work to machine shop setup and training for powder coat attendants.

"Whirlpool has found these programs to be a great way for us to recruit and build skilled talent in the Clyde area," Johnson said.

These programs are important because the local economy is changing. In the past, a person could graduate high school and get a job. Now, many careers require more technical training, Quaintance said.

In addition to apprenticeships, Sandusky County leaders are working on educating high school students about the value of a high-paying manufacturing job.

"I don't think kids really get educated on what type of careers are out there," Quaintance said.

Factories are cleaner, require more education and include more technology than ever before, she added. "Why wouldn't a kid want to work in a factory nowadays?"

Leaders are making strides in getting that message to students who might pursue a local career in manufacturing.

A few years ago, Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation leaders launched a manufacturing bus tour for local school counselors so they could see the benefits of local jobs and pass the word onto their students, said Angie Morelock, president and CEO of the Sandusky County Chamber of Commerce.

They visit places like Century Die Co., which is doing more than talking about the skills gap problem. Each year, the company hosts the Green Box Derby, where students create soap box derby cars out of recycled materials and winners get scholarships to Terra State Community College. The goal is to educate younger students about skilled trades, said Tim Myers, general manager and part owner of Century Die Co.

The company offers apprenticeships, mentors students at Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Centers and offers an opportunity for students to visit the business through their Moldmaker for a Day program, Myers said.

The proactive approaches help change a student's negative perception about manufacturing jobs when they see that the positions are well-paid, interesting jobs that are in their backyards, Myers said.

"Many of them really light up when they see that," Myers said.

Local leaders also plan to host an event in October for National Manufacturing Month to educate ninth-grade students about careers in the skilled trades they can pursue after high school, Morelock said.

"A lot of them (employers) have apprenticeship programs and help pay for schooling. You can learn a good trade and have a good job and are guaranteed to leave debt free. That's not a message that is out there," she said.

Reporter Daniel Carson contributed to this article.

jbalmert@gannett.com

740-328-8548

Twitter: @jbalmert

Looking for a job?

Details about local job openings are available at OhioMeansJobs.com.

Looking for information?

Terra State Community College's Kern Center for Community and Industry Development can be reached at 800-826-2431 or http://www.terra.edu/ContinuingEducation.html. For details on programs offered at the community college, go to www.terra.edu.

The next Century Die Co. Green Box Derby will be May 16. For information or to register, go to www.greenboxderby.com.