YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mahoning and Shenango Valley schools and adult programs are helping young people find their way into the trades to fill worker shortages in those industries.
The Angi’s Skilled Trades Report for 2024 states that 90% of surveyed tradespeople reported being very or somewhat satisfied with their current profession.
And most tradespeople surveyed believe their jobs are less likely to be affected by AI.
Yet there continues to be a shortage, with 1 million fewer tradespeople in 2024 than in 2007, according to the report.
The Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio is among the educational entities working to fill those gaps.
“There’s thousands of jobs available,” says Robert Eggleston, a career counselor at the center. “It’s just a matter of getting the right people in them, and the way we’re doing that is by starting to garner interest at an earlier age. … So instead of graduating high school and spending two, three, four years on something they don’t want to do in a career they may not be interested in … they can graduate with a pretty good knowledge of what’s available and make educated decisions.”
Starting Younger
The Columbiana County Career and Technical Center, in working with the county educational service center and its business advisory council, created the Career Exploration Mobile Unit, which gives students as young as fifth grade an introduction to skilled trades while it travels between different school districts and events, according to Jeremy Corbisello, superintendent at the CCCTC.
Jodi Glass, recruiting and marketing coordinator for Mahoning County Career and Technical Center’s Adult Career Center, notes there has been an upswing in the number of high school graduates heading straight to their adult programs. And in many cases, young women are gravitating toward trades that were historically dominated by men.
“We have seen a great influx of younger students,” Glass says. “It’s actually really amazing. I have so many students enrolling from so many different high schools this year that have just graduated… I would say over the last 10 years that has been my goal, to target younger incoming students and we’ve achieved that goal.”
When Glass visits high school events and career fairs, she finds students are looking for affordable options and a direct path to employment. Perhaps their parents were in the skilled trades and are encouraging them, but many also are doing their own research, she adds.
“I love our young students,” Glass says. “They’re concerned about how much they’re going to spend. They’re concerned about what financial aid they can get and then they’re concerned on what the next step is… They want that full pathway. It’s refreshing to hear those questions from young students.”
Summer camps and tours of the Youngstown State University Workforce Education and Innovation programs are designed to give young students an introduction to career opportunities they may have not previously considered, according to Jackie Ruller, director of the Excellence Training Center.
Partnering with the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio, YSU offers alternative graduation pathways and allows students to complete credentials in the areas of engineering, manufacturing information technology and 5G readiness.
Eggleston says the ESC is involved in various initiatives to get more children and teens interested in careers in the skilled trades, partnering with a variety of organizations.
For instance, in conjunction with the YSU Williamson Innovation Park, the ESC introduces students to summer camps featuring wireless communication, aviation and other STEM programs. Other programs include 3D printing through Oh Wow! The Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology and agriculture-related programming through the Ohio State University Extension office.
ESC of Eastern Ohio offers career counselors helping to bridge students into preapprenticeships in the building trades and information technology. Together they sponsor an annual skilled trades expo introducing 4,000 students to career options.
A drone education program through the ESC helps high school students earn their FAA-certified drone commercial pilot certification and two additional flight-based certifications.
Along with Junior Achievement, the ESC is involved in BizTown, a hands-on, simulated town where students can take on a variety of roles to learn about how business, the economy and community work together.
Additionally, the ESC utilizes job coaching through Ohio Means Jobs and the funding available to help them obtain certifications after high school graduation.
Outside of the local area, Transfr, a virtual reality software company in New York, lets students explore career pathways by interacting with more than 40 different careers, Eggleston says.
Mercer County Career Center
Aaron Kline, assistant director of the Mercer County Career Center, says the school partners with other institutions to offer learning options geared at adults, while 15 programs for high school students get them prepared for jobs or additional training. MCCC offerings include welding, collision repair, automotive technology, diesel technology, logistics, carpentry, information technology and computer programming.
The cosmetology program recently grew so large MCCC added a second teacher, says Kline, who says a sports medicine program starts this fall.
“Our enrollment has been going up and up over the last few years,” Kline says, “Even though some of our sending schools in the area are facing declining enrollment over the last five years, we’ve seen increased enrollment.”
Kline believes more people are starting to see the value in the skilled trades, including the students, parents and the schools sending them.
“They’re starting to realize that that message years ago that every kid should go to college probably wasn’t the right message,” Kline says.
YSU
“Not everyone is cut out for college, but maybe this gets their foot in the door at YSU and they do take classes, eventually,” says Ruller.
She agrees there are alternate pathways for success for those looking for good-paying jobs even if they are not interested in traditional two- or four-year academic degrees.
Ruller says programs at the Excellence Training Center, the Advanced Technology Workforce Accelerator and the newly launched YSU Truck Driving School, which gives the opportunity to earn a Class A CDL in just four weeks, are alternative paths to lucrative careers.
For the past four years, the ETC has upskilled workers in manufacturing areas such as programmable logic controllers, robotics, industrial maintenance and additive manufacturing.
YSU Workforce Education and Innovation offers preapprenticeship initiatives in advanced manufacturing and advanced technology.
Lindsey Ekstrand, director of the Workforce Education Programs, states these include pathways in high-demand careers including broadband, 5G and cybersecurity.
Additionally, YSU is partnering with the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition for a WorkAdvance program, a four-week training initiative to prepare people for specific manufacturing paths and give them the opportunity to interview with local employers during the program.
CCCTC
Corbisello says former students and manufacturing groups have funded scholarships to help high school CCCTC graduates continue their education as adults.
Additionally, the CCCTC is working with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers so students graduating from the school’s construction trades program can go directly into apprenticeships and the workforce.
“The Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition has just been steadfast in creating opportunities for our students in welding, machining and transportation for work-based learning opportunities while our students are in high school,” Corbisello says. “They can either do job shadowing, summer internships or early placement and work their senior year.”
The CCCTC also has partnered with some businesses including Butech Bliss, Brilex Industries and PHD Manufacturing, which are paying for students to gain customized training and additional credentials.
The CCCTC offers adult programs in welding, machining, the police academy and a variety of healthcare programs.
Nursing
As an Ohio Technical Center, MCCTC is working to align its programs with in-demand jobs in the Mahoning Valley. So, to its traditional adult programs like welding, automotive, EMT, paramedic, firefighter, medical assistant, medical office, MCCTC has added the Hannah E. Mullins School of Practical Nursing. The school is relocating from Kent State University Salem City Center to MCCTC in Canfield. The HEMSPN has a nearly 70-year history of educating nurses in Salem.
Other recent MCCTC additions include a free cybersecurity introduction course and a veterinary assistant program that can lead students on a pathway to veterinary technician.
For those who did not graduate high school, the adult career center offers a WorkKeys test, which can help students earn their diploma and enter a career training program for free.
“We love high school grads. We love career changers. We love people that want to add to their résumé,” Glass says. “We have something that can appeal to pretty much everyone.”
Pictured at top: The MCCTC June 2025 adult graduates from auto technologies, welding, medical assistant and medical office specialist programs.