This story is part of an ongoing series exploring north central Ohio's workforce trends and how different organizations, including businesses and schools, are adapting to current challenges. Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Gorman-Rupp Company for its ongoing support of trusted independent local journalism.
ASHLAND — The trades have always had a labor issue, according to Joe Reep, the president of Ashland Comfort Control.
Reep’s family has owned a Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning business since 1980, he said. Reep was born in 1985, and remembers starting to work at Ashland Comfort Control during the summers when he turned 12.
In Reep’s estimation, the trades have perennial challenges. First, there is not enough supply to meet the demand for workers. Not to mention, it takes years to develop one’s skills in a trade profession.
In his view, nothing matches experience when it comes to knowing what you need to know.
But in the last five years or so, Reep’s business has started a new approach for employees. They’ve begun sending new employees to receive credentials, partly on the company’s dime.
“We’ve really tried to build that out,” Reep said. “It’s not complete yet. We’re always working on that.
“But it is something we are intentional about: trying to build something out so we can develop our own talent instead of letting somebody else develop it, and then maybe sometimes having to overpay for talent that may not meet what we need.”
Upskilling and reskilling employees — like Ashland Comfort Control has started doing — is a task many employers began undertaking relatively recently, according to Keith Stoner, North Central State College’s director of marketing and public relations.
“The changing needs of technology in almost every business almost requires lifelong learning,” Stoner said.
To upskill or not to upskill?
Still, Stoner said the idea that education isn’t a one-time event has emerged in the last decade. For a long time, the need for reskilling and upskilling employees either went overlooked or wasn’t identified by businesses.
According to a 2019 World Economic Forum report, part of the hesitation in upskilling and reskilling programs came from businesses.
There was “very limited reliable information about the business case and return on investment,” the report stated.
That’s something Chris Copper, executive director of North Central State College’s foundation, also observed.
But in today’s market, Copper said employers have two large areas of concern: employee recruitment and retention. Having programs to build on an employee’s skill set acts as a valuable part of combating both challenges.
“Employees are more likely to have loyalty and want to stay when employers are invested in their long-term goals,” Copper said.
Evidence backs Copper and Stoner’s statements. Locally, a Source Media Properties survey of over 1,100 local teens found opportunities to learn and grow was one of the most important factor for teens as they considered their future career.
That indicates programs to upskill employees could appeal to Gen Z applicants looking to enter the workforce.
Recent studies with a more national scope also indicate the same benefits Copper and Stoner identified.
The 2019 report from the World Economic Forum suggested the best approach to tackling those issues happens when public and private sectors each take on part of the responsibility. The state of Ohio has addressed that concern via its TechCred program.
TechCred
The TechCred program, launched in 2019, aims to give employees opportunities to learn new skills and credentials. It does so by providing employers with the funding — either in full or in part — for employees to earn those credentials.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted heads the TechCred program. When he entered office seven years ago, Husted said several employers told him about struggles finding employees with the right skills to fill open jobs.
It was out of that challenge that the TechCred program blossomed.
“Your future workforce is your current workforce,” Husted said. “Most of the people who are going to work for you five years from now probably already work for you.”
Husted explained the process to access TechCred dollars was designed to be easy. Employers pick employees to register for credentials. Then, they select the provider of a job training program or credential — typically, that’s either a local program or an online method.
Once an employee completes the program and earns their certification, TechCred reimburses the employer for the cost.
“We don’t pay for participation,” Husted said. “We pay for completion. That way, we make sure that we’re getting value out of the money that’s being invested.”
When the program passed the Ohio Legislature, Husted said it didn’t have a large marketing budget. It mostly grew via word-of-mouth.
“It’s been one of the fastest-growing, most successful workforce programs I’ve ever been involved with,” Husted said.
The lieutenant governor spent his career involved in workforce development and economic development, prior to assuming public office.
In Husted’s estimation, the TechCred program serves both employees and employers.
He said it makes employees more employable, gives them more job security and can even help them earn higher pay.
On the employer side of things, Husted said the opportunities TechCred provides helps develop better-skilled employees, which in turn, makes businesses more competitive.
Today, the program reaches across Ohio, including funding employee credentials for businesses in Ashland and Richland counties. Husted said over 40 companies in the area have received TechCred dollars.
According to his office, some of the largest TechCred recipients in Ashland and Richland counties include:
- Ashland County-West Holmes Junior Vocational School (Ashland County)
- Ashland University (Ashland County)
- Ashland Comfort Control (Ashland County)
- Charter Next Generation, Inc. (Richland County)
- BP Electric of Ohio, Inc. (Richland County)
- Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation (Richland County)
Risks and rewards
Reep’s business, Ashland Comfort Control, has received $12,946 from TechCred. Those dollars have helped pay for 23 credentials, according to the lieutenant governor’s office.
Reep said he’s only applied for TechCred to cover 50% of his employees’ upskilling costs, even though the program will cover up to 100%.
“I like to have a little bit of skin in the game, too,” Reep said. “I’m not just trying to be a taker.”
Reep said it used to be tempting to only send loyal employees to training opportunities. With a young employee, for example, it can pose a risk to sink thousands of dollars into training them only for them to leave the company.
I think people appreciate being treated fairly… I think it all comes back full circle. We take care of the employees, employees take care of the customers and the customers take care of the business.
Joe Reep, President of Ashland Comfort Control
But with TechCred in the mix, Reep said some of those risks are alleviated.
“This way, I can get more people to get their foot in the door, if I know I can send them to this training,” Reep said.
He said his technicians have earned a wide array of credentials and upskilling opportunities thanks to TechCred dollars. Those include an EPA 608 certification for refrigerant handling, and a class on using smart tools at Walsh University.
The process hasn’t always gone perfectly for Comfort Control. Reep said the first time he applied for TechCred dollars, the process was a bit challenging.
Reep added as a small business, Ashland Comfort Control also doesn’t have somebody dedicated solely to deadlines and paperwork. That, too, can be difficult.
Once, he said he had an employee who didn’t finish a credential on time, and lost out on funding that way.
Nonetheless, Reep views his efforts to upskill employees as method in helping retention. If you treat employees well, he said, they’ll offer you their loyalty.
In the future, Reep hopes Ashland Comfort Control’s upskilling efforts will grow into a staff position tasked with training and career development. He wants to develop a curriculum and turn out “graduating classes” of technicians from within the business.
That type of program exists at some of Comfort Control’s larger competitors, Reep said. But the Ashland-based company doesn’t have the resources to implement such a program — yet.
Catching on
Based on a Source Media Properties survey of 92 local businesses and companies, 74 responded “yes” to a question asking if they offer upskilling opportunities to their employees.
But not every business working to upskill its employees does so through TechCred. Some have begun tackling that work internally, like Mansfield’s Third Street Family Health Services.
Peggy Anderson, CEO of Third Street Family Health Services, said the organization started a mid-level manager training program 18 months ago.
It came after receiving feedback from employees who said they didn’t feel prepared to step into managerial roles.
Anderson, who’s been CEO for nearly four years, said it’s called an employee assistance program. The training runs for 12 weeks, and focuses on leadership development.
It aims to help employees hone their managerial skills and better understand the duties that may come along with those jobs. Parts of the training cover tasks like giving a performance evaluation or offering constructive feedback.
“I still think we have some improvement areas we can work on, but it helps when you have managers, and in particular those middle managers, who are getting told things by their bosses and then they have to communicate to their team members and they don’t always know how to do that,” Anderson said.
“So, we’ve been trying to focus on that level to really set them up for success. Again, we all trip up, we all say things in a way maybe we shouldn’t have or look back and think, ‘I wish I would have done that differently.’
“It’s not perfect. But it does, I think, make everyone a little more confident.”
Third Street Family Health Services has also worked to support employees who find their own upskilling opportunities, Anderson said. Some employees have taken LinkedIn courses, or have chosen to go back to school for degrees and further training.
When it can, Third Street Family Health Services tries to offer those employees flexibility in their schedules to complete their upskilling programs, or other supports.
She doesn’t have data yet, reflecting the impact of those efforts on employee retention. But her hope is that in the long run, it will help her organization in that cause.
Reep offered similar thoughts. He thinks upskilling programs can take time to become fruitful. Still, he said he’s had some employees who have returned to Ashland Comfort Control after leaving for better-paying jobs.
Reep said they’ve cited their treatment as the reason.
“I think people appreciate being treated fairly,” Reep said. “And we do our best, and we’re not perfect, and we definitely miss the mark sometimes, but I think it all comes back full circle.
“We take care of the employees, employees take care of the customers and the customers take care of the business.”
Thanks to Gorman-Rupp Company, Spherion, North Central State College, Ashland County Community Foundation and The Ohio State University Mansfield for their generous support of trusted independent local journalism.
