Your future talent lives here. Recruits love it here.
The Northeast Ohio Region has a robust workforce, a strong talent pipeline … and the proven ability to attract talent from outside the region.
Explore Our Region
Talent solutions that fit your needs.
The Northeast Ohio Region has a diverse, dedicated workforce of more than 2 million, 25-plus higher education institutions facilitating talent solutions, and a track record of success connecting businesses to emerging talent.
Effective Talent Solutions
The Northeast Ohio Region is focused on building a talent pool to take on the opportunities that are here today, and a plan for those that will be needed tomorrow.
5th in the U.S. for net new resident gain during the pandemic (Cleveland area)
25-plus higher education institutions
190,000-plus total annual higher education enrollment
More than 40,000 annual college graduates
9,000-plus annual graduate degrees
Higher Education & Workforce Partnerships
Cuyahoga Community College Workforce, Community and Economic Development (WCED) Division Partnerships
The Workforce, Community and Economic Development (WCED) division of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) partners with business and industry, government organizations, and the community to provide training and development to individuals and businesses throughout Northeast Ohio. WCED’s workforce preparedness solutions include leadership development, organizational development, corporate team building, quality, and business process management, health care industry solutions, information technology programs, manufacturing technical training, and skilled laborer training.
Cuyahoga Community College & Swagelok: Right Skills Now CNC Operations Program
The Right Skills Now CNC Operations program evolved from a collaboration between Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) and Swagelok to meet the demand for skilled CNC (computer numeric controlled equipment) operators. The program combines 180 hours of training with 320 hours of paid internship to prepare individuals for a career in the manufacturing industry. Eighty-five percent of those completing the program are employed at Swagelok.
LCCC & Fortress SRM: Cybersecurity Pilot Program
The cybersecurity pilot program led by Lorain County Community College (LCCC) and Fortress Security Risk Management (SRM), a Division of MCPc, is a strong partnership that leverages targeted insights. The program, formed in response to needs uncovered during a Team NEO Talent Development Council meeting, resulted in a solution whereby LCCC is creating cybersecurity internships. Currently, Fortress SRM has three LCCC students interning at their Security Operations Center.
Stark State College, University of Akron & FirstEnergy: On-Site Higher Education
FirstEnergy Corp. developed an educational program in conjunction with Stark State College and The University of Akron where instructors from both institutions teach on-site at company facilities in the Akron area. Known as “Educate to Elevate,” the program is designed to assist FirstEnergy’s local customer service employees in pursuing associate and bachelor’s degrees and help develop a highly skilled, adaptable workforce.
LCCC: Industry-Tailored MEMS Degree
Lorain County Community College (LCCC) offers Ohio’s first bachelor of applied science in microelectronic manufacturing (MEMS). This new degree is an industry-tailored, hands-on program with core content in Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and microelectronic manufacturing, design, assembly, and prototyping. LCCC faculty worked closely with more than 30 Northeast Ohio microelectronics companies to develop the MEMS program to prepare students for paid internships and in-demand careers in the Northeast Ohio region. To-date, MEMS has a 100% job placement rate.
Talent Attraction, Development & Retention Partnerships
Team NEO Talent Development Council
The Team NEO Talent Development Council (TDC) brings together higher education institutions, companies and workforce organizations to develop holistic, regional talent development solutions.
TDC members evaluate the talent pipeline, policy initiatives, pilot programs, regional performance and participation.
Through its efforts, the TDC grows jobs, nurtures and develops talent across the region, and ensures access to opportunities is equitable.
Cleveland Talent Alliance
The Cleveland Talent Alliance endeavors to make Cleveland and the surrounding region one of the fastest growing and most diverse, inclusive, and welcoming metro areas in the Midwest by 2030. The consortium, made of public, private and nonprofit organizations led by Destination Cleveland, is working to help the region attract new talent and retain current residents in a distinct and coordinated way. It is developing a seamless and coordinated system that attracts, navigates, engages, welcomes, and retains the best talent in Cleveland, with an initial focus on the fast-growth sectors of IT/technology (including financial services), healthcare and smart manufacturing.
Ohio to Work
Ohio To Work, launched in Cleveland in September 2020, is a partnership-driven initiative that provides those seeking employment with career opportunities that increase income and improve quality of life.
The program has since reached several thousand job seekers across the state, creating pathways to in-demand jobs through personalized career coaching, accelerated training options, local employer connections, career tools, and more.
Team NEO’s Aligning Opportunities Research
To help improve regional competitiveness in talent and offer greater prosperity for our workforce, Team NEO publishes the Aligning Opportunities report. This data-rich research report equips Northeast Ohio’s education, talent, and workforce ecosystems with insights into the current and emerging needs of our region’s employers. And it offers useful guidance for talent in our region who may be considering a transition into a new field. We use this work to help bridge the gap between the availability of trained and credentialed workforce and the opportunities to grow high-potential industries.
Team NEO expanded the research to consider how diversity, equity, and inclusion influences Northeast Ohio’s talent pipeline through two unique supplements: Misaligned Opportunities, offering a deep dive into the impact of racial inequity on talent; and Lost Opportunities, examining gender inequities and the impact the pandemic had on women in the workforce.
Connecting Talent to In-Demand Opportunities
Students: Connect your passions to career opportunities. Learn more about the top emerging careers in the Northeast Ohio Region, including salary information, top skills required, and videos of young professionals’ journeys to their career paths.
Aligning Opportunities
The Aligning Opportunities report identifies the supply and demand misalignment within Northeast Ohio’s talent pipeline, specifically within the in-demand, high-growth fields of health care, IT and manufacturing.