YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With job creation outpacing available labor in the Mahoning Valley, regional stakeholders are turning to second chance employment as a strategy to boost workforce participation.
Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, emphasized the importance of integrating formerly incarcerated individuals into the labor market, noting partnerships with organizations such as Goodwill Industries and CoreCivic to identify and remove employment barriers.
Douglas Fender, warden at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, highlighted the facility’s vocational, educational and rehabilitative programming aimed at preparing inmates for reentry.
Both pointed to workforce development as critical to supporting local economic growth and reducing recidivism.