Press Release from the Putnam County Community Improvement Corporation: Karl Schimmoeller, Fort Jennings, was recently selected as Director of The Workforce Partnership of Putnam County, a new entity which launched in September 2022.
Karl brings 33 years of manufacturing experience along with 12 years of service on the Fort Jennings School Board of Education and six years on the Vantage Career Center Board of Education. During the last five years of his career at Honda, Karl served on the board of the Workforce Partnership of Shelby County in Sidney, OH., an opportunity that further developed his passion for workforce and career development.
“I have witnessed the impact when an individual gains skills to improve not only their career, but the overall quality of their life and their families,” Schimmoeller said.
“Many people don’t realize that today’s manufacturers offer a clean, team oriented and highly skilled environment and these companies continually train both new and current employees to learn new skills that will help them advance their careers.”
The Workforce Partnership of Putnam County is an Industry Sector Partnership that is now serving all communities in the county, all K-12 and higher education systems for both youths and adults, and any employers with manufacturing jobs. The mission of the partnership is preparing, connecting and growing an adaptive, highly skilled workforce.
To fulfill this mission, a group of manufacturing leaders are serving on the board of The Workforce Partnership to set workforce priorities and grow local training opportunities and meaningful interactions between employers, learning systems, students, parents, and agencies. This structured and business approach will improve the ability of Putnam County employers in attracting, training, upskilling, and retaining workers who are prepared for careers of today and the future.
Creation of The Workforce Partnership has been underway since 2018 through a collaboration of the Putnam County Community Improvement Corporation economic development office and Ohio Means Jobs Putnam County.
Putnam County CIC Director Amy Sealts said together with Ohio Means Jobs, they heard time and time again from manufacturing companies wanting a structured approach to better align employers’ needs for skilled workers with education and training systems serving Putnam County youths and adults.
The Putnam County CIC board worked with OhioMeansJobs Putnam County, PRO-TEC Coating Company representatives and Columbus Grove Schools and Ottawa-Glandorf Schools superintendents for about three years to determine the best way to tackle the workforce development needs of the county and secure funding to support a director.
The group met with other workforce organizations around northwest Ohio to learn about their strategies and successes before deciding how to launch a workforce partnership in Putnam County. This was followed by work to secure funding for the director’s position through the federal ARPA allocation awarded to the county and allocated by the Putnam County Commissioners office.
Schimmoeller has also been working closely with the Ohio Manufacturers Association to complete steps necessary to become a “recognized” Industry Sector Partnership in Ohio.
“We are thrilled to have Karl in this role. He has already met with all school superintendents, he has presented at county wide teacher professional development days and is actively meeting with employers,” Sealts said. “His work will also support our Business Retention & Expansion program since there is a huge workforce component with every economic development project the CIC facilitates.”
The Workforce Partnership office is located at 115 S. Fair Ave, Ottawa, in the Putnam County CIC office building, and will soon have a dedicated website.
