The West Central Ohio Labor Council held a workshop for workers to learn more about different registered apprenticeship programs that will help them build their skill sets for manufacturing jobs.
"Many employers are finding it hard to find qualified applicants and they're also facing a what is commonly called a silver tsunami where you have a retirement age group that is leaving. We just talked to one employer who said they lost 50 percent of their workforce to retirements and in the next two years an additional twenty percent. At the same time they're having trouble finding job seekers that have the skills for some of the higher skilled occupations such as millwright or maintenance and they're also trying to fill production rights," says Stuart Bass, Executive Director of Keystone Development.
And some of these programs gives people the chance to come in and learn on the job.
"This is a tremendous opportunity with so many manufacturing jobs having left the state for workers current or new to get skilled again in some of the newest technologies in manufacturing," says Pierrette Talley, Secretary Treasurer of Ohio AFL-CIL.
Some of the benefits to employees are high demand career opportunities and for the employers, they get a well developed workforce.
