Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day - Thursday,
April 24, 2008
Designed to be more than a
career day, the Take Our Daughters And Sons To
Work® program goes beyond the average "shadow" an
adult. Exposing girls and boys to what a parent or mentor in
their lives do during the work day is important, but showing
them the value of their education, helping them discover the
power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and
family life, providing them an opportunity to share how they
envision the future and begin steps toward their end goals in
a hands-on and interactive environment is key to their
achieving success.
Click here for
more information.
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North Central Ohio's Training
Workers to Advance Grant
Now Available |
The
North Central Region of the Ohio Department of Development has
been awarded more than $500,000 incumbent worker training
dollars to assist manufacturing employers in the upgrading of
their staff's skills as well as the advancement of the overall
company. Approximately $71,000 is available for disbursement
to Ashland County manufacturers that have a specific training
need, such as imparting new skills to the employees or
diversifying the company's product or service offerings via
new training concepts. However, the grant is not intended to
subsidize regular training, such as OSHA or orientation
programs. The minimum payment required of the employer is 25%
of the training program's total cost, with the grant awards
limited to $150 per training hour. Registration is fairly
simple and uncomplicated, as North Central State College is
coordinating each training project. Other area schools or
certified private trainers are also eligible training
providers. All Ashland County applicants will meet with a
local committee of workforce and economic development
professionals to seek approval of the application. Please
contact us today if
interested. |
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| Dear Reader,
"OPPORTUNITY"...is a word that comes to mind
as I review this edition of our newsletter. We
have listed several upcoming events that we believe
present great opportunities for businesses and citizens
to learn vital tools to fuel the future of their
organizations. Our office is proud to present our
first "Economic Development 101" seminar. With the
economic development process moving ever faster, and
involving many stakeholders, we thought it was time to
invite the general public to a half-day session that
takes an in-depth look at the typical economic
development organization and its activities. We
hope you will join us and the great panel of speakers
from around the region. I am confident you will
leave excited about Ashland County and your ability to
affect economic improvement within our
communities. The seminar is on May 6th from
8:45am-11:30am at Ashland University's Convocation
Center.
AACED has been working closely with
several companies over the past few months. In the
near future I look forward to reporting how they plan to
seize opportunities, make some significant investments,
and add to the county's pool of available jobs.
Many companies are already working with us and partner
agencies to advance the skill level of their
workforce--a strategy of paramount importance in today's
economy.
Inside you will notice several exciting
developments in the area of workforce development.
The new incumbent worker training grant program has
already seen one company approved for training,
disbursing approximately $2400 out of more than $70,000
available to Ashland County manufacturers. This
firm looks forward to utilizing the training to advance
an employee into a higher skill level position.
Several other firms have inquired about this program,
which is a great tool to advance a company and the
careers of employees within it. Please call us
today if you are a manufacturer and are considering an
investment in training. Finally, please take
notice of how you can engage in "ex-ternships" with the
Career Center's Adult Education students. What a
great opportunity to complete a project for your
company, while providing invaluable career experience to
an adult student.
We, at AACED, want to thank all
of you for the opportunity to work with you on these and
many other exciting
projects.
Sincerely,
Evan
Scurti
Director
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Business Succession Planning
Ohio Employee Ownership Center
at Kent State 22nd Annual
Conference
 Closely held
businesses are the backbone of the American
economy. Despite the attention paid to the stock
market, the 8500 public companies traded there provide
only 24% of private sector employment; by contrast, 4.6
million closely held companies provide 76% of employment
in he private sector. Practically all the job
generation in the country is in the closely held
sector. What is the most cost effective means of
retaining these businesses and the jobs they provide in
our communities? Timely and effective succession
planning.
In the early 80's, studies
showed that 30% of family businesses made it to the 2nd
generation of family ownership and management and 15%
made it to the 3rd generation. Twenty years later,
a 2004 US Small Business Administration study found that
only 15% made it to the 2nd generation and only 5% to
the 3rd.
The consequence of
the absence of succession planning is that too
frequently businesses are sold to competitors who may
consolidate operations, reducing local employment, or
may simply shut the doors and liquidate. The
failure to plan for business succession in small and
middle-sized closely held businesses is a leading
preventable cause of job loss in the U.S.
(- - Ohio
Employee Ownership Center at Kent State)
The
statistics show why there is a need for succession
planning. The Ohio Employee Ownership Center
(OEOC) at Kent State is holding its 22nd Annual
Conference on Friday, April 18th. For additional
information, please see the flyer at this link: http://dept.kent.edu/oeoc/2008conferenceflyer.pdf.
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ACWHCC offers incredible
opportunities
The
Career Center's Adult Education Externship Program holds
important benefits for the student and local
employers.
(From Melissa Carr, Adult Education Program
Manager):
Do you struggle finding quality
employees with skills?
Maybe you need to
consider hosting an externship site for one of Ashland
County-West Holmes Career Center (ACWHCC) Adult
Education programs. What is an externship? Externships
are experiential learning opportunities, similar to
internships, offered by educational institutions to give
students short practical real-world experiences in their
field of study. Externships are generally shorter than
internships. The experience allows students to apply
their book smarts to a real-life setting. Externships
offer examples of career possibilities. It is a chance
for students to observe/practice and ask questions. This
knowledge prepares students for the transition from
school/training to career.
Externships are not
only conducted for the benefit of the extern, but for
the host as well. Both parties get a chance to observe
one another. Students understand that the hours they are
in externship are equivalent hours to being interviewed.
Successful externships could lead to recruitment
possibilities. The best thing of all for hosting an
externship site, it is free. Students are not
compensated for externship work. The Career Center
considers this a time for students to give back to the
community while practicing their newly developed skills
as well as gaining valuable experience.
Externship hosts are not responsible for
Worker's Compensation, Social Security or unemployment
compensation. Our healthcare programs carry a liability
policy and our industrial programs have health coverage
in case of an accident.
Programs offering
externship are as follows: Business Office Technologies
(general office assistant), Computerized Office
Technologies (medical billing and coding), Construction
Trades Specialist (students built a home for Habitat for
Humanity), Dental Assisting, HVAC (heating, ventilation,
air conditioning and refrigeration) Maintenance
Training, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, and
Phlebotomist.
Anyone interested in hosting an
externship, please contact ACWHCC at 419-289-3313 and
ask for Adult Education Transitions Department.
Are you in need of hiring skilled workers? The
above listed programs are complete in May. Please call
ACWHCC at 419-289-3313 and ask for Adult Education
Placement Department.
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WORKSHOP WILL FOCUS ON
EXPORTING
The Ashland Area Council for Economic
Development is pleased to announce plans to hold a
workshop for companies interested in exploring their
export potential. The event is
co-sponsored by the Ohio International Trade Assistance
Center and the Manufacturing and Technology Small
Business Development Center. It is scheduled to take
place on Thursday, May 15th at 7:30am at the Ashland
Municipal Building Conference Room, 206 Claremont Avenue
in Ashland. It will end by
9:00am. This workshop is designed for
companies who have done minimal shipping overseas or
have not engaged in any exporting.
But even more experienced exporting companies may
wish to send employees that need to know more about
exporting resources.
The presentation by the Ohio
International Trade Assistance Center will provide an
overview of resources that are available to Ohio
companies through ITAC, the Ohio Department of
Development's Global Markets Division, and the U.S.
Commerce Department. ITAC is a free
counseling service for new-to-export companies, and
Ohio's Global Markets Division maintains offices
throughout the world that exist solely to help Ohio
companies increase their exporting capabilities.
Topics covered will include assessing your export
potential, exploring suitable markets, handling overseas
inquiries, accessing available resources, and developing
an export strategy. There is no cost
to attend the workshop and a continental breakfast will
be included, but advance registration is
requested. For directions, or to make
a reservation, contact Nikki McConnell at 419 289-3200,
or nikkimcconnell@ashland-ohio.com, or
visit the ITAC website at www.ohioitac.org. | |
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