Jobs await interested workers Ohio group finds openings in health care, manufacturing, but conditions, qualifications are daunting

Paula Schleis

Jul. 16, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- At Northeast Professional Home Care Inc. in North Canton, owner Tony Vallone pays a bounty to employees who can haul in good physical therapists and nurses for job openings. The new employee gets a signing bonus, too.

The shortage isn't quite as critical as it used to be, he said, because local schools are turning out more health-care graduates than in years past.

But because he's "a little picky" about employees hired to tend to senior citizens in need of home health care, it's still a challenge to find candidates who meet all of his qualifications, Vallone said.

Nurses and physical therapists are among 10 health-care occupations that have seen their numbers and wages grow since 2004 while still being listed among the state's top job needs, according to a new analysis by Policy Matters Ohio.

The nonprofit organization, with offices in Cleveland and Columbus, recently took an in-depth look at health care and manufacturing in Ohio as the state wrestles to meet workplace demands in those two industries.

"We're trying to look at important sectors in Ohio's economy and figure out what occupations are growing and whether we have enough people to take those jobs," senior researcher Jon Honeck said.

Representatives from the state, education and business have embarked on new efforts to match Ohio's educational resources and training programs with critical shortages.

"We don't have a labor shortage in Ohio and we haven't had one for many years," Honeck said.

Regardless, many Ohio employers contend that they have difficulty finding qualified workers in key occupations.

So it's important to find out what is causing so many jobs to go unfilled. The reasons, Honeck said, are many and varied.

Surveys indicate that the well-publicized crisis in nursing, for instance, is related to stressful working conditions and low job satisfaction, Honeck said. Ohio recently established committees to look at how hospitals are operating, with the goal of recommending patient-to-nurse ratios.

In manufacturing -- an industry in which total employment has declined significantly in the past decade -- there are still hundreds of thousands of people working on the production line.

But their roles are becoming more complicated, Honeck said, and people who struggle with math or don't

have confidence in their computing abilities might not want to make that transition.

Also, after watching years of layoffs and buyouts and plant closings, "they may not think they can have a long-term career in manufacturing anymore," he said. They would be surprised to learn that some areas of manufacturing -- including aerospace, biotech and green applications -- are growing, he added.

"We don't have all the answers as to what's going on there, but . . . we know there is a decrease in the number of people going into apprenticeship training programs and training institutions for critical occupations," Honeck said.

As the state launches its new Ohio Skills Bank program -- a competitive grant process to fund training programs -- "Ohio should focus on employers that are actively addressing job quality . . . that provides meaningful career opportunities for workers," Honeck said.

Generational differences add another level to the challenge.

Today's young worker demands flexibility, but the factory floor is a regimented environment that can't accommodate personal needs the way some other careers can, he said.

Vallone, of Northeast Professional Home Care, sees age-related issues in health care as well.

Many graduates of physical therapy programs, for instance, gravitate toward outpatient care and facilities where they will be working with younger people with whom they "have more of a connection," Vallone said.

On the other hand, he said, others will find more flexibility, independence, and greater personal satisfaction by working one on one with someone in their home for 40 minutes instead of a cookie-cutter institutional pace.

One finding in the Policy Matters report that is worrisome, Honeck said, is that some high-demand, entry-level health-care occupations have been losing compensation.

For instance, Ohio has added more than 17,000 home health aides in three years, a 56 percent increase. But their real median hourly wage fell 5.6 percent, to $9.39 in 2007. "There's a situation where the job requires little training and employers can find people to take them," he said.

The demand for home health care will continue to grow as baby boomers enter their post-retirement years. The vanguard will start turning 65 in two years. "We'll see more demand for home health aides, but we need to figure out how to make that occupation a good job that people want to remain in," Honeck said.

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.

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