Talent : Innovation + Job News

"Flannel Channel." "Hot Shots @ Hot Spots." "Got*City GAME! Cleveland."

Those catchy monikers are the titles of some of the channels of the new UNCOMN.TV Network, established in April by Cleveland's Barb Siss Oney.

UNCOMN.TV is short for "unifying communities," and UNCOMN.TV Network is an online technology company that brings together employers, universities, civic organizations and communities in Northeast Ohio to inform individuals, both locally and globally, about what the region offers.

"We want to attract talent, business and resources to the region by demonstrating the rich economic assets and quality of life in Northeast Ohio," Oney explains.

"I believe that positive community change is possible, and my goal is to find ways for individuals, businesses, organizations, and institutions to collaborate to positively impact Northeast Ohio. It's one thing to produce a great show, but that has a limited life," she notes. "If we are to have an ongoing impact on attracting and retaining talent in Northeast Ohio, however, we need a way to build ongoing engagement."

UNCOMN.TV Network is a combination of relevant content, collaborative marketing and social media.

"We apply the power of traditional TV, the global reach of the web and the interactivity of social networking to deliver information about living, learning and earning in Northeast Ohio," Oney says.

Tune in to the "Flannel Channel," and you'll view programs about regional businesses, educational institutions and organizations that are employing and educating local professionals. The "Hot Shots @ Hot Spots" channel features members of the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club, Ohio's largest young professionals group, showcasing what they think is "hot" about Cleveland.

Got*City GAME! Cleveland (GCGC) was the first program of the UNCOMN.TV Network. GCGC represents a partnership with more than 150 colleges, universities, businesses and civic organizations to showcase fun locations throughout Cleveland. "Within weeks of launching, GCGC was being watched in more than 1,065 cities in more than 66 countries," Oney says.

There are plans to launch city-specific channels for Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown. "We'll also have forums, blogs, podcasts, live webcasts of conference keynote speakers and webinars for workforce development," she notes.

UNCOMN.TV Network received funding from Cleveland's Civic Innovation Lab as well as Ohio's Third Frontier program through Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE).

Source: Barb Siss Oney, UNCOMN.TV Network LLC
Writer: Lynne Meyer

When companies like General Electric, Procter & Gamble and Rockwell Automation need high-tech training for their employees, it's not long before Dennis Ulrich's phone rings.

Ulrich is the executive director of the Workforce Development Center at Cincinnati State University, which offers some of the area's largest employers highly specialized training tailored to specific needs.

By focusing on industrial training, HAZMAT courses, executive classes and a wide array of healthcare courses, the center has carved out a niche as an economic driver in southwestern Ohio.

"What makes us unique, I think, is that we offer an immediate return on investment," explains Ulrich. "We consult with our corporate clients, assess their needs and how to offer what it is that they need, but we also determine what their return on investment will be. We try to focus on programs that will have an immediate impact. We want to help them be more competitive in the marketplace."

In the case of General Electric, that meant launching the company's JETS -- jet engine tear-down school -- program. Since its inception, the program has instructed more than 1,100 of GE's engineers on design and maintenance issues with engines built at the company's Cincinnati plant. Now, GE has asked the center to take its program on the road to its other locations. P&G, for which the center instituted a process engineering course, has discussed offering the same instruction to its workers in China and India. Rockwell has shipped its employees to Cincinnati from around the country for Ulrich's programs.

As successes have accumulated, so has the center's clientele. About 80 companies now contract with the center for training, with growth expected to continue as word spreads.

The center also has looked for new territory to enter. As part of its industrial training curriculum, it began offering specialized "green technologies" training, like solar panel installation and weatherization, in recent years. It also was among the area's first to offer training in the booming bio-tech and bio-science fields.

Its latest effort is the Institute for Social Media, launched at the beginning of this year. Offering comprehensive courses dealing with the use of online sites for sales, customer service and recruiting of new employees, it also focuses on other areas, like legal issues.

Source: Dennis Ulrich, Workforce Development Center
Writer: Dave Malaska

Ohio made its best showing yet in a national survey that measures the economic structure of each state. Still, there is room for improvement, according to findings in " The 2010 State New Economy Index," released last month by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The report shows that Ohio rose to 25th overall, up four places from the last survey, conducted in 2007. The jump was larger than all but two other states: Kansas, which rose eight places, and Montana, which rose five.

The survey examined five main categories: knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism, transformation to a digital economy, and technological innovation capacity.

Ohio made its best showing in the knowledge jobs category, where it ranked 16th nationally, up six places from 2007. Within that category, Ohio was 9th in immigration of knowledge workers and 15th in information technology jobs, a 10-place surge from 2007. 

The state rose four places in the globalization category to 24th nationally, and rose three places -- to 31st -- in the digital economy category. While Ohio remained at 25th in the innovation capacity category, it rose six places -- to 24th -- in the subcategory of non-industry investment in R&D.

The only main category in which Ohio fell in the rankings was in economic dynamism, where it fell to 38th from its previous ranking of 37th. Scott Andes, a research analyst at the ITIF and co-author of the report, says it's difficult to pinpoint reasons for the change, but noted a contributing factor could have been Ohio's drop from 17th to 25th in the number of fastest-growing firms.

"It's important to remember that the State New Economy Index measures economic structures, not performance," he says. "Some reports gauge a state on how well they have performed in the near term, yet such measurements can be volatile. While Ohio should be encouraged by its progress, it should be clear that becoming a national leader will take more than a few years."

Sources: The Innovation Technology and Innovation Foundation, and Scott Andes, ITIF research analyst
Writer: Gene Monteith

At Techmetals in Dayton, investment in human resources is as important as investment in capital resources.

The 41-year-old industrial and commercial metal finishing company emphasizes employee learning for everyone, from new hires to veterans, says Phillip Brockman, director of business development and engineering.

Within the first two weeks, newcomers are required to perform some physical labor and read technical data. The tasks help Techmetals determine important characteristics about the person, such as whether they can read and follow directions, and if they're a "self-starter." The tasks also help the company evaluate the person's communication skills.

Everyone gets training in Steven Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," which emphasizes things like being proactive, planning, and understanding; and the FranklinCovey planner system, which assists time management and organization.

But that's not all. Other company-sponsored courses cover things like chemistry, math, blueprint reading, project management, supervision, safety, and the importance of a drug-free workplace.

Each employee gets $2,000 a year for outside learning, too, typically used at places such as Sinclair Community College and the University of Dayton. Brockman says the company spent $24,000 last year for sales training. One employee underwent $7,000 of computer training. Many employees also earn the credential Certified Electro Finisher � "it's like a degree in plating," he says.

And when a company class is held on a Saturday, off-duty employees get paid to be there.

A former COO is the continuous improvement director; he teaches many of the classes. And there are two on-site training facilities. The 2009 total for all this learning was over $125,000, excluding the continuous improvement director's salary.

Why, in an era of economic upheaval, does Techmetals still budget for these things?

"It helps establish our culture," Brockman says. "�And it helps us all use the same nomenclature and procedures."

It doesn't hurt retention, either, he says. Current employment is about 125. Average tenure is 18 years.

Source: Phillip Brockman, Techmetals
Writer: Gabriella Jacobs

Northeast Ohio has expanded its business attraction efforts outside of Ohio, hiring a full-time director to lead an international marketing program designed to attract two to four new companies to the region in the next two years.

Team NEO, a business attraction organization that represents the region's largest chambers of commerce in a 16-county area, last month hired Bernardine R. van Kessel as Director, International Business Attraction. Team NEO also has contracted with PM&P Consultants of Germany to act on its behalf in Europe.

The initiative is financed by a $1-million, two-year grant from the Cleveland Foundation and is intended to reach out not only to European companies but to business interests in Canada and China for renewable energy, biomedical and advanced manufacturing opportunities.

Carin Rockind, Team NEO's vice president of marketing and communications, noted that a new Team NEO report issued last month demonstrated that northeast Ohio is well-positioned for "clean tech" growth. Those industries now represent $12.5 billion, or 7.5 percent of northeast Ohio's economy, but are expected to grow more than 20 percent in the next five years.

"Northeast Ohio in particular has the benefit of tremendous access to transportation systems in terms of rail, highway and port access," she says. "Then, our workforce is accustomed to these particular (high tech) industries."

Rockind says Team NEO has set a first-year goal of 10 "hard leads" (a company that could bring at last 20 new jobs to the region and commit to at least $1 million in capital investment) -- and a goal of 12 such leads in the second. The organization also is developing a process to work with foreign businesses that aren't ready to open new offices here but are interested in U.S. partners.

Sources: Carin Rockind, Team NEO and http://www.clevelandplusbusiness.com/
Writer: Gene Monteith

Supported by a $500 loan from an uncle, Swagelok was founded in 1947 by Fred Lennon as the Crawford Fitting Company. Shortly afterward, the business began manufacturing Swagelok tube fitting.

In the beginning, there were just two employees: Fred Lennon and Cullen Crawford, the original design engineer of the Swagelok tube fitting.

Today, the Solon-based company's products are delivered at more than 200 authorized facilities in 57 countries on six continents � by approximately 4,000 employees.

Swagelok products are still designed to provide leak-tight operation, reducing the possibility of fugitive emissions. Its newest product � the Swagelok compact gauge valve � is designed with a purge valve and tube-fitting-end connections to reduce leaking. That allows customers to save on both energy and maintenance costs.

"Swagelok's skill sets are in precision manufacturing," says Jim Francis, the company's vice president of human resources.

The company's special expertise was recognized in late 2006, when Swagelok, along with research collaborator Case Western Reserve University, received a three-year, $5.5-million grant from Ohio's Third Frontier initiative to research and commercialize a new method for heat-treating stainless steels to dramatically improve hardness and other performance characteristics.

"Because of Cleveland's history of precision metal fabrication and machining, we've always been able to rely on its diverse pool of talent," he says. "And the education system in Ohio has produced great engineers and business candidates."

But the learning doesn't stop when people are hired. The company hosts almost 100 classroom courses on a number of topics � including personal development, management and technical training.

Source: Jim Francis, Swagelok
Writer: Colin McEwen

Yost Engineering Inc., a technology service, support and development company, knows a good intern can become a great employee. That's why the Portsmouth-based company has hired five of them, including three this year, from the Third Frontier Internship program.
 
"When they come into the work world they know what would get them a "B" on a (school) project isn't good enough for a client. If they're willing to do that that extra work, they turn into very good employees," said Yost Chief Operations Officer Francesca Hartop.

Among the company's products are sophisticated educational robotics kits, robotic and animatronics controllers and various software for healthcare providers. But it bucks the stodgy stereotype that often follows engineers, touting "a relaxed, friendly, team environment for employees. The dress code is casual, and staff members routinely bring semi-well-behaved dogs to the office. We also share our space with office cats and a large fish tank to provide feline entertainment."

Maybe that's one reason Yost, founded in 1999, has attracted so many top interns.

"We put them right to work in coding and product development," Hartop says.

Yost Engineering is just one of more than 700 high-tech Ohio companies who've found a partner in Third Frontier. Established in 2002, it links employers with talented college students in an effort to train and retain some of the state's most talented young workers.

More than 3,000 students have gone through the program. Third Frontier reimburses company's 50 percent of a student's wages over a 12-month internship period, or up to $3,000. It's geared toward the advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, bioscience, information technology, instruments, controls and electronics and power and propulsion sectors.

Source: Francesca Hartop, Yost Engineering
Writer: Feoshia Henderson