Leaders meet to resolve skills shortage

Ohio business, education and union leaders came together Monday to start resolving a big workforce challenge: How to train the next generation of workers and update the skills of current workers to fill today’s in-demand jobs.

Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs from the biggest companies in the U.S., officially started the Workforce Partnership Initiative for the Ohio region. Leaders from American Electric Power, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Accenture, Columbus State Community College and unions joined with the roundtable and Ohio Business Roundtable to kick off the program.

“It is a critical issue we need to deal with,” said Nick Akins, chairman, president and CEO of AEP and the leader of the Ohio initiative.

About 100 leaders came together to talk about the plan Monday at AEP’s headquarters in Columbus.

The goal is to figure out the best ways to provide training, including apprenticeship programs or other career pathway programs, that can be shared by companies and also reward those who complete the programs with a job in that field. Universities and colleges will be integral to the effort, the leaders said.

In particular, the focus will be on training in cybersecurity and data analytics.

The goal is to ensure that “individuals will be equipped to take the jobs that companies are having trouble filling,” said Dann Linn, a Business Roundtable vice president.

Another goal is to increase diversity in tech fields, he said.

Akins said about 4,000 AEP workers are expected to retire in the next five years, so finding skilled people to replace them will be critical.

“We have to get up and do something about it,” he said.