The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s JobsNow Workforce initiative received recognition from the Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) at its annual Competitiveness Conference and Site Selector Forum in Chicago on Monday.
The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s JobsNow Workforce initiative received recognition from the Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) at its annual Competitiveness Conference and Site Selector Forum in Chicago on Monday.
The MAEDC, which comprises economic development professionals/members in 12 Midwest states, honored the Chamber’s JobsNow Workforce initiative as the first-place winner in the 2018 Economic Development Awards’ Workforce Development category. The category included “activities and/or innovative programs to attract new workforce to an area, strengthen the skills of the existing workforce or encourage retention of youth in an area.”
The JobsNow Workforce Initiative was created in 2016 to help close the gap between the demand for skilled labor and the supply of workforce-ready employees in the Valley by publicizing available jobs, connecting qualified workers to those positions and attracting talent to the area.
Sarah Boyarko, COO and senior vice president of Economic Development at the Regional Chamber, said, “It’s always an honor to be recognized by your peers for a job well done. We’ve heard what our company decision makers and human resource directors have to say about their workforce experiences as employers, and in response, we created JobsNow in an effort to mitigate their ongoing challenges. The program has been well received, and we look forward to taking it to the next level in 2019.”
The JobsNow Workforce initiative, which has been lauded since launching, includes three components:
- Publicize available jobs: Chamber partner WKBN promotes in-demand jobs and openings on news telecasts on a weekly basis. Designed to reach a wide range of the employable population, the segments make the public aware of current job opportunities and prompt those who are interested to contact the company to apply.
- Connect qualified workers by offering free drug testing: Drug testing is available to Chamber member businesses for their potential applicants at no cost through Steward WorkMed. This process ensures eligibility of potential employees and allows employers to efficiently and effectively proceed to fill their workforce needs.
- Attract talented individuals to companies and the Mahoning Valley: Attracting qualified and capable human capital to the Valley is often difficult for many employers in the community. The Chamber can help encourage out-of-area applicants to move to the Valley in order to fill the workforce demands of its member businesses.
The Chamber’s Marcy Angelo, manager of Business Development and the JobsNow program (center) with Ron Starner from conference sponsor Conway Data, Inc. and Chris Strayer from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and president of MAEDC, attended the conference Dec. 2-4 and accepted the award on behalf of the organization.