MOUNT VERNON — Knox County will be part of a research study that will help shape the future of specialized training for manufacturing, health care and information technology jobs. A $250,000 Regional Innovation Grant was recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to study the needs of employers in a nine-county area.
“The grant was received by the Richland-Crawford Area 10 Workforce Investment Board,” said David Williamson, director of Crawford County Economic Development, who is a member of the WIB.
Williamson explained that for economic development, the state divides Ohio into 12 regions. Knox County is part of Region 6, which includes Morrow, Marion, Richland, Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Seneca and Wyandot counties.
“The Area 10 WIB made the decision and determined that the study should not just be for Richland and Crawford counties,” Williamson explained. “It should be for all of Region 6, and I think that was an excellent decision.”
Williamson said the results of the study, which are expected in August or September, will be sent to the state and the Department of Labor. According to Williamson, the counties in Region 6 were eligible for the study because of the recent layoffs in the area.
The purpose of the study is to find the needs of employers, so that educational institutions can better train future employees.
“The main concentration is doing meetings with industry from three primary sectors,” Williamson said. “Those are manufacturing, medical and IT.”
Terry Divelbiss of Divelbiss Corp. in Fredericktown serves on the executive committee overseeing the study. He hopes the study will accomplish its mission.
“The study should show in the nine-county area, in manufacturing, the skills that are going to be needed in the next several years,” Divelbiss said. “Then the academic community can better understand what the requirements are going to be for manufacturing, health care and IT. This should provide the baseline of the educational institutions so they can supply the training for the work force.”
Williamson echoed these goals.
“We need to make sure that as a region we have or build the right kind of needs that are going to deliver the trained work force that the employers need, throughout the region,” he said.
Rich Vocht, chairman of the executive committee, said there is a representative of economic development for each of the counties in the region. The committee has contracted with consultant Bob Visdos to provide oversight, while professionals from North Central State College will be interviewing the employers in each county.
“What we’re doing, the strategic planning now, we are doing the research now, and from the research we deliver the plan,” Williamson said, adding that the results of the study will be made public when they are compiled into a report.
Williamson said that once the report is complete, it will help the region qualify for more economic assistance.
“It’s going to position us so that we’ll be put in a place to qualify for state and federal grants for training,” he said. “It also shapes where we’re going down the road. We have to make sure that we have the systems in place to deliver the training that the employers need.
“The economic success of the whole region really depends on having the highly skilled employees,” he said. “The skills of the work force, the human talent; everyone realizes that these are the key factors in being successful.”