Workforce Partnership for Dislocated Workers
Ohio - Workforce Partnership for Dislocated Workers
Workforce Innovation Submitted By: Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board
Community Challenge/Problem
From 2009-2011, Cincinnati and Hamilton County experienced a raft of downsizings and plant closings. The manufacturing sector was particularly hard-hit. In 2009, Avon Products announced it would close its manufacturing operations at its Springdale plant over the next two years. Beam Global Spirits and Wine announced a phased two-year closing in 2009. Graphic Packaging announced it would close in 2011. These three closings alone impacted almost 800 workers.
Board Solution/Innovation
The Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board partnered with the Communication Workers of America and the Cincinnati Labor Agency for Social Services to bring assessments and training to dislocated workers at these plants. Work Keys assessments leading to the National Career Readiness Credential, and online and mentored coursework leading to nationally recognized credentials from the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council, were offered to all workers. The training was funded through an ARRA grant awarded to the CWA's Alliance for Green Manufacturing Skills to retrain dislocated workers in Ohio.
Outcomes & Results
The project exceeded every goal in the grant: 1,291 dislocated workers served (goal 1,000); 2,114 Manufacturing Skill Standards courses completed (goal 900); 2,828 certifications earned (goal 1,200); 422 Certified Production Technicians (goal 175), and 425 placed into jobs (goal 420).
Among those workers who were re-employed was Lana Crabtree, who worked in the processing department at Avon. Lana received her Certified Product Technician credential, and now works at the Miller-Coors brewery in Trenton, OH.
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