Workforce Connect
Pairing Applicants with Employers
About
Workforce Connect addresses critical talent gaps in key industries in Cuyahoga County while improving economic mobility and reducing racial economic disparities. By facilitating workforce sector partnerships, this initiative connects workers to well-paying career paths and helps employers find the skilled talent they need.
Workforce Connect is one strategy of the Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group. This public, private, and philanthropic partnership aims to drive systems change to boost workers’ access to family-sustaining careers, increase businesses’ access to qualified workers, and support equitable outcomes, especially by race and gender.
Impact
In 2022-2023, Workforce Connect:
- engaged 95 employers in shifting hiring practices
- facilitated the hiring of 2,200+ employees into in-demand career paths in Healthcare, Manufacturing, and IT
We have been a key partner in Workforce Connect since its inception in 2019.
United Way of Greater Cleveland is one of the founding agencies of the Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group, providing pooled workforce development funding and participating in the Workforce Funders Group leadership team.
Workforce Connect Healthcare
Workforce Connect Healthcare partners with area hospitals to reduce barriers to hiring and implement policies that boost retention. Because hospitals are among the largest employers in Cuyahoga County, improved hiring and HR practices can significantly benefit all workforce sector partners.
Workforce Connect Healthcare has worked with area hospitals to achieve several employer policy changes in 2023, including:
- The Cleveland Clinic updated over 400 job descriptions and is conducting training for managers for skills-based interviewing and hiring
- University Hospitals has removed high school/GED requirements for multiple jobs and job classifications
- Hospitals are exploring changes in reentry hiring procedures
- MetroHealth launched a Medical Assistant incumbent worker training program with 95% completion and passage rates
Coach U
Led by Workforce Connect Manufacturing, Coach U supports professional development frontline staff working directly with jobseekers, such as career coaches and placement specialists. These professionals help jobseekers assess the fit of employment opportunities, navigate wraparound supports, apply for jobs, prepare for interviews, and secure jobs or enter training.
Currently facilitated by MAGNET, Coach U participants learn best practices, build skills, and engage directly with employers to better understand career paths. Recent participants report:
- Feeling better prepared to support jobseekers
- Greater consistency and integration of best practices across workforce organizations
- Placing 448 people in manufacturing jobs, 310 in healthcare jobs, and 57 in IT jobs in 2023
