Efforts are to recruit more than 60 employers with operations in the Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Montgomery and Warren county areas for the region-wide event, said Adam Jones, administrator of the Workforce Investment Board of Butler, Clermont and Warren Counties, a government agency that sets workforce development policy.
“For people that view manufacturing maybe kind of as the old dungy type of kind of environment, it’s not that at all,” Jones said. “It’s very clean.”
The Workforce Investment Board is the event sponsor in partnership with fellow organizers including local county OhioMeansJobs centers, Hamilton County’s Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board, TechSolve, Warren County Port Authority, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office.
“This summit brings together public-private partnerships to help connect manufacturers hiring workers, with workers who are seeking manufacturing jobs or training,” Brown said in a provided statement. “Working together, we help ensure long term success throughout the region.”
Based on the companies that have agreed to participate so far — such as Lebanon’s Tomak Precision, West Chester Twp.’s AK Steel Holding Corp., Hamilton County’s GKN Aerospace and others — openings include CNC machinists, production associates, maintenance technicians and process engineers, according to information compiled by OhioMeansJobs-Butler County.
Of the jobs already listed, starting pay ranges from $11 to $27.50 an hour.
The Southwestern Ohio Aerospace Region was one of 12 regions nationwide to receive a federal designation last year from the government program Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership.
A total $1.3 billion in federal money is available to spend on economic development across the nation, and the new designation puts the Cincinnati-Dayton region at the front of the line to receive a slice.
With the new two-year federal status, local organizations in the 27-county area including Butler and Warren counties, Springfield and Northern Kentucky get preferential treatment when applying for government funding to support the manufacturing industry.
While the region’s shared aerospace manufacturing strength was promoted while seeking the designation, the new federal status benefits the region’s whole manufacturing industry. And the upcoming job fair is not limited to just aerospace companies, but is open to any local manufacturing employer.
Interested job hunters can receive more information by calling 937-225-6202. Pre-registration can be done at www.swohioworkforce.com
Interested employers can register for the summit by visiting www.swohioworkforce.com or by calling 513-785-6511.