MOUNT VERNON – Throughout the last several years, manufacturers have faced a series of challenges, but one of the most pressing is an unprecedented workforce shortage. In response to their search for talent, a coalition of Knox County manufacturers and the Knox County Workforce Development Alliance (WorkDev) created a career readiness program called Knox ASPECT, designed to prepare interested candidates for manufacturing careers by teaching necessary skills for the industry.
The payoff for the participants is that any candidate who completes the program will have a guaranteed job interview with 11 participating Knox County-based manufacturers, all of whom are seeking to hire for open positions.
The program has run three times, and candidates from each round have started a manufacturing career. The latest round of Knox ASPECT will focus on the Senior Class of 2023 from Knox County High Schools who are weeks away from graduation and entering the workforce. Knox ASPECT for 2023 will begin on April 13, 2023, and concludes on May 4, 2023. For more information and to apply for the program, visit the Knox Area Development Foundation website: KnoxADF.com.
The program will meet at Knox County Technical Center on Thursdays during the school day.
The program will focus on various topics ranging from technical skills and safety to soft skills. A critical portion of the program is working with the candidates to sharpen their interviewing techniques which the Knox County Ohio Means Jobs team will teach. Students will also take a strength-finding assessment to learn about their unique strengths and how those can apply to their careers.
Holley Carter - Mauser Packaging Solutions: “Mauser Packaging Solutions is engaged with ASPECT not only as a Manufacturing Employer but as a community member. Our goal is to help provide the greatest experience possible for the youth preparing to enter the workforce! The interviews are an amazing experience! The students come out of the ASPECT program confident and with job offers!”
The program's final day is dedicated to in-person interviews with participating manufacturing companies.
The eleven Knox County-based employers who will participate in the Spring of 2023 program are (alphabetically): Ariel Corp., Beehive Engineered Solutions, Burrows Packaging, Coyne Graphics Finishing, Diemaster LLC, Jeld-Wen, Kokosing Construction, Mauser Packaging Solutions, Owens Corning, Schafer Driveline, Ver-Mac Industries.
High school seniors interested in applying should email the Knox County Career Navigator, Sean McCutcheon - smccutcheon@knoxesc.org.
“Manufacturing is Knox County’s largest sector and provides the fuel for our local economy, said Jeff Gottke, President of the Knox County Area Development Foundation. “Knox County is fortunate to have forward-looking local businesses and groups like WorkDev, who are working to find creative solutions to solve modern problems that will maintain our high standard of living.”
Knox County has hundreds of unfilled manufacturing jobs, drastically affecting an essential industry that comprises nearly a quarter of the County’s economy. Across Ohio, manufacturing is the leading industry sector accounting for over $110 billion and over $43 billion in payroll, more than any other industry. ASPECT aims to connect Knox County residents to high-quality manufacturing careers close to home. The Knox ASPECT program is supported by the Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Columbus State Community College (MEP at CSCC). “The Ohio MEP program exists to support manufacturers as they grow and face challenges,” said Jeff Spain, Director of the MEP at CSCC. “Workforce is a challenge that every manufacturer is facing. The opportunity to support a program like Knox ASPECT and create a talent pipeline for those manufacturers is exactly the kind of opportunity we were excited to support."
