LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Career professionals from across the state gathered in Lima this week to discuss new strategies for preparing Ohioans for the workforce.
The two-day Ohio Career Development Association conference is being held at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, marking the first time the event has taken place in Lima.
This year’s conference theme, “Reimagining Career Readiness: Building Pathways to Impact” focuses on helping career professionals better serve students and clients as workforce needs continue to evolve. Attendees are participating in presentations, networking opportunities and discussions centered on workforce trends and career development best practices.
“Career trends are ever changing and words like pivot and career readiness continue to really have us, that are career professionals, on our toes and really keeping trends with what's going on and what changes are happening for our future workforce, our current workforce. So, we really bring together HR professionals, workforce and job coaches. Everyone that is touching on helping people,” said Rachel Richardson, the 2026 Conference Planning Chair.
The two-day Ohio Career Development Association conference is being held at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center.
Conference organizers said career readiness is increasingly tied to workforce development efforts. As part of that expansion, the conference will host its first-ever panel discussion Friday featuring local and state professionals discussing the importance of workforce development and career preparedness.
