“Relevancy is the key word here and these are the skill sets that employers are looking for,” he said.
There are more than 170 unfilled manufacturing jobs in Clark County, according to state data.
The state-run jobs group, Ohio Means Jobs, OIC and Clark State Community College have teamed up to re-instate the manufacturing skills training course. It had operated successfully in the past at OIC, but was shuttered because of a sharp drop in open factory jobs during the 2008 recession, Calabrese said.
“We didn’t want to train for jobs that didn’t exist,” he said.
There are now nine students in the training course, which began in the late summer. Through Ohio Means Jobs, candidates take a six-week pre-course at Clark State before entering the 10-week hands-on classroom at OIC, directors said.
The training would cost students more than $20,000, Calabrese said, but is paid for by federal and state money. Upon completion, the students will have knowledge equivalent to three years of work experience, he added.
“If you come in here, you can’t go wrong,” said Eric Stephenson, a trainee at the learning center.
Stephenson received a degree in phlebotomy from Clark State five years ago. After he got his degree, he spent two years searching for a full-time job, but never landed a position, he said. Workers at Ohio Means Jobs told him about the opportunity available through the Urban Learning Center partnership.
“This trade isn’t just a job; it’s a career. And it’s going to mean a lot for myself and my family,” he said.
Many of the trainees in the program are like Stephenson and have been trained in other fields, but want to learn the in-demand work of skilled manufacturing, Calabrese said. Some of the trainees are also part of OIC’s inmate re-entry programs, he said.
The plan to reinstate the training program at OIC began over a year ago, Calabrese said. The organization purchased the vacant building just down the street from their offices and used other programs, such as Youth Build, to renovate the empty space into classrooms and a learning lab.
OIC has created an industrial committee with heads of manufacturing businesses in the area to ensure that the skills their trainees are learning are the ones companies in the area need right now, Calabrese said.
“That way when we do go into the work force, we’re pretty much guaranteed employment,” Stephenson said.
The current class still has seven weeks until its training is complete at the Urban Learning Center, Calabrese said. There is already a second class that has begun pre-course at Clark State, he added.
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