As businesses across the Cincinnati region grapple with persistent skills gaps and workforce challenges, many are taking matters into their own hands by developing in-house training programs. An employer survey conducted by Cohear, the local community engagement and strategy firm, discovered that the biggest skills gap wasn’t in technical abilities but in fundamental workplace competencies such as time management, communication, and interpersonal skills.
While organizations like Cincinnati Works and Ohio Means Jobs offer targeted training to address these needs, many companies are taking a more direct approach by developing their own workforce programs. The Workforce Council of Southwest Ohio recently polled employers to ask them what topics they’d be most interested in learning more about in 2025, and four rose to the top as a skills gap or additional training needed: Recruiting and retaining people experiencing a disability; artificial intelligence (AI), including the ethical considerations of AI and upskilling staff to embed AI tools in their work; general employee retention strategies; and upskilling workers to create career pathways for growth and develop leaders within the organization.
Upskilling an organization’s own workforce is the best place to start, says Beth Yoke, executive director of the Workforce Council of Southwest Ohio. “It’s cheaper to retain and upskill an existing employee than it is to do a job search, onboard, and train somebody brand new,” she says. “Employers might want to own at least some piece of training so they can train the person in their particular company’s culture, processes, and ways of doing things.”
In addition to an employee knowing how to operate a certain machine, for instance, Yoke says he or she can learn how to repair the particular model and make it for the company. Beyond efficiency, training support also improves retention—proven by multiple studies that show employee loyalty increases when their employer is investing in them.
This investment is becoming increasingly accessible as the region sees more state support for workforce development through initiatives like Ohio’s TechCred, a program for current and future employees to upskill for the sort of tech-related jobs employers are offering now and will continue to create. The Individual Microcredential Assistance Program provides funding for employee upskilling.

While resources and funding exist for companies wishing to develop training programs—from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to state initiatives like TechCred—many businesses find it challenging to navigate these opportunities, and there’s an overall lack of awareness that these programs exist. “It’s an uncoordinated effort,” says Yoke, noting that the Workforce Council hopes to better align training needs and implementation across the region so companies aren’t working in isolation. “There are a lot of resources and funding streams and expertise out there, but a lot of times they’re hard to find.”
There’s also a growing trend in apprenticeship programs as a way to train new workers in a lower-stakes setting. Apprenticeships were popularized by the trades but are now common in many industries. “There’s been a growing interest in apprenticeships among companies and at the state level,” says Yoke. “The state is providing guidance, and an apprenticeship office in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is a resource for businesses to help them get apprenticeships started so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel on their own.”
Yoke also says European companies with offices or plants in the region can be a resource, given that Europe is more accustomed to the apprenticeship model. The European American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cincinnati, which works with companies in Europe establish an American business and businesses in the Cincinnati area establish in Europe, can help make connections.
Despite these challenges, several local companies have successfully launched internal workforce development programs to create pathways to sustainable careers while developing and strengthening new and existing talent pipelines. Here’s a look at a few organizations leading the way.
Illustration by Albert Espi

Messer Construction has a long history of workforce development, including creating successful talent pipelines, upskilling existing workers, and training prospective employees who are new to the construction industry. Company offerings include a two-year Laborer Apprenticeship Program and a four-year Carpentry Apprenticeship Program, both certified by the U.S. Department of Labor, along with a 55-year history of hiring co-op and interns to perform paid work while still in college.
In 2015, Messer saw an opportunity that went beyond construction when Cincinnati Children’s Hospital began planning its new Critical Care Building. Messer proposed leveraging the project as a catalyst for community engagement and workforce development among the hospital’s direct neighbors, with a goal of hiring 50 residents from neighborhoods near Cincinnati Children’s to work in fulltime roles for the project and beyond. Messer met the goal, employing new workers across the company and 16 different subcontractors.
What started as the Uptown Workforce Development Initiative has since evolved into a broader Urban Workforce Development Initiative (UWDI), creating more than 100 construction careers for Cincinnati residents. It represents a comprehensive approach to creating sustainable careers while addressing industry-wide workforce shortages.
Another UWDI success is a partnership with Building Value and Easterseals Redwood. The paid training program focuses on non-technical job skills such as the value of teamwork, the importance of punctuality, following safety guidelines, and having the right tools each day. “We assessed several prospective nonprofit partners, and Easterseals Redwood and Building Value were a good fit because they provide all the components needed to be successful, such as recruiting and following up with candidates post-employment,” says Stanford Williams, Messer’s vice president and chief inclusion and diversity officer. “Building Value was the right fit because it’s an architectural salvage outlet, so the deconstruction work is good training for those new to the construction industry.”

In addition to teaching skills, the program is unique in the support that’s provided. A dedicated case manager helps participants overcome barriers to consistent, full-time work by addressing challenges with housing, transportation, financial literacy, health care, and child care. This support continues even after individuals are hired full-time. “People are unique and their circumstances are unique, so it’s been very important to listen to what UWDI participants need and find solutions to support those needs,” says Williams. “In addition to partnering with an organization that provides reliable vehicles under market value, we saw value in partnering with a driving school and vehicle maintenance clinic. Much of the program is looking at the full spectrum—not just getting a car, but how to maintain a license and manage upkeep/payments.”
The program is also working to develop a social emotional learning course so participants can become better at managing situations in their personal life in a professional environment, setting life-long career goals, and building healthy relationships.
In summer 2024, Messer celebrated its 100th placement of an individual into a construction career. The program expanded beyond its original focus, with UWDI participants working on building projects such as UC Health’s Emergency Department, Cincinnati Children’s College Hill behavioral health project, and the Duke Energy Convention Center renovation. “I think it’s unique that a construction company cares enough about workforce development to dedicate the staff and resources to something as complex and impactful as UWDI,” says Williams. “Messer is a company of builders, so workforce development has always been ingrained in our company and we’re sincerely interested in addressing the shortage of skilled construction workers in the industry as a whole.”

The health care industry is becoming increasingly complex, merging traditional medicine and medical education with new technology and information systems. As a result, leaders at UC Health recognized that the normal career path for pharmacy techs needed reimagining to meet the evolution of health care. “It’s a much different world than it was 30 years ago, with more complex medications and more sophisticated processes,” says Vice President of Pharmacy Jeff Akers.
Six or seven years ago, he says, the level of expertise needed to launch a pharmacy career started to increase exponentially, but the labor force didn’t expand to meet the demand. Despite salaries rising in other health care professions, the pay level for pharmacy tech roles wasn’t increasing, and job listings competed with many other roles, such as retail jobs paying the same hourly rate or more. The restructuring had to start at the beginning, which meant developing the talent pipeline and targeting existing UC Health employees for additional training.
Recruiting individuals as early as high school and training them to become full-time pharmacy technicians was part of UC Health’s plan. In addition to initial recruiting, the organization developed a comprehensive career advancement program to upskill current employees from entry-level positions to level up to specialized roles and into leadership positions, creating a sustainable pipeline of skilled pharmacy professionals.
“As the pharmacy technician career path has evolved and progressed, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board has introduced more specialized certifications,” says Akers. Hospitals and health systems will bring on uncertified hires into pharmacy technician trainee positions, and the board allows them one year to hold that position before they get certified. Once they pass the certification exam, they can pursue a pathway toward new roles, increasing their pay, moving into more specialized programs, and entering into leadership roles.
“At UC Health, we will hire on individuals with no experience, no formal education, and no certifications, and we work with workforce groups like Talbert House, the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, and the Cincinnati Public School system to allow them to shadow a pharmacy technician or, if they want to pursue a pharmacy degree, find out what the higher education opportunities are there.”

Once a trainee becomes certified, he or she starts the Technician Advancement Program, which combines hands-on work with education components. Employees work full time while getting training to help reinforce what they’re learning, and they can then apply to be a senior certified technician. From there, multiple specialization paths open up.
“Being a pharmacy technician is not just working at CVS and Walgreens and counting by five, putting medication in bottles, and applying labels,” says Akers. “Especially in a hospital and health care system, there are countless different areas that you can work in. It isn’t just one job you’re doing—there’s a whole career path that you can proceed down. To be quite honest, nobody knows about that outside of the pharmacy field.”
Looking ahead, UC Health is rolling out a new career ladder initiative to further enhance the pharmacy pro- gram by hiring a tech education coordinator to help support education opportunities and professional growth. “Nothing kills an employee’s worth more than stagnation,” says Akers.
The focus is on helping certified techs and leaders meet their professional goals through development pathways. According to Akers, the key to the program’s success is in meeting candidates where they are and focusing on two essential qualities: self-motivation and integrity. “When you’re working with drugs, especially controlled substances, I’ve got to be able to trust you,” he says.
For those who do enter the program, UC Health aims to make the pharmacy track a long-term career path. “What we want to do is bring in tech trainees, bring in certified techs, and let them make UC Health a long-term plan for their career and give them the tools they need to make that a successful career,” says Akers. “But also provide them with a salary and benefits to be successful.”

Gorilla Glue takes a slightly different approach to workforce development, focusing on existing employees by dedicating time and resources to their development. As a result, the company has been rated a Top Place to Work in Cincinnati for 13 years in a row.
Leadership recognizes the impact of the whole person, both at work and at home, can have on the daily lives of each other, and this dedication plays out specifically through a collaborative partnership with Cincinnati Works.
The partnership began in 2018 by bringing in three different coaches to work with 120 employees enrolled in the program. Employees have access to a workforce coach, a financial coach, and a behavioral coach, each available to the employee at different times of the month. The workforce coach is onsite twice a week to engage with employees on career advancement, life goals, and daily challenges with housing and childcare. The financial coach and behavioral coach support in their expert areas, which includes connecting and creating a safe space for discussion on one’s mental health, depression, anxiety, and stress. The Cincinnati Works team collaborates with Gorilla Glue’s Wellness Committee to host lunch-and-learn events for employees throughout the year.

“The program works for employees who are committed to wanting change and security in their lives,” says Stephanie Styles, Gorilla Glue’s senior human relations generalist. “The workforce coach will support them in all challenges throughout the process.”
Though the program is open to all employees, there are specific success stories that stick out to Styles. One employee who’s been with Gorilla Glue for three years worked with both the workforce coach and the behavioral coach to get support them with struggles in making connections, building trust, and maintaining stable housing, and they were able to support the individual in securing second-chance housing. Another employee worked with the workforce and financial coaches to guide them through things like budgeting and credit building that ultimately supported the process of purchasing a home.
“We have seen an impact on our retention,” says Styles. “Most employees who are in the program stay employed longer and have the support to bring their best self to work each day.”