MANSFIELD — State Representative Mark Romanchuk said there are hundreds of high-paying jobs available in north central Ohio.
Matching people who have the correct skills with those jobs is the tricky part.
“I think there’s a misconception that there is just no jobs,” Romanchuk said. “There have been jobs since the recovery, which was around 2010. There have been a number of job openings going on since 2010, so there’s jobs available — good-paying jobs.”
According to the Ohio-sponsored jobs board website, there are 1,771 available jobs within a 20-mile radius of Mansfield. A breakdown of salaries shows there are 588 entry-level jobs paying less than $30,000, 564 middle-income jobs paying between $30,000 and $49,000, 433 upper-middle income jobs paying $50,000 to $79,000.
In September 2016, Romanchuk pointed out those opportunities in the region. A quick check during the holiday season shows those opportunities are still abundance, according to OhioMeansJobs.com.
For instance, a home health case manager – Registered Nurse position — is available with CoreMedical group. An on-site manager position at Kelley Services is available. A UPS full-time city driver position and an opportunity at Americorps as a team member at Mercy Health in Willard is posted; several RN positions are posted on the site as well.
Other jobs available include therapist, store management and truck driving positions.
The site boasts 99 high-income jobs paying $80,000 to $99,000 jobs. There are also 81 six-figure jobs according to the website.
“Yeah, it’s true the better-paying jobs require some level of skills,” said Romanchuk, the 2nd District Representative from Ontario. “What we are working on at the state level and what we should also be working on at the local level is trying to work on getting our work force the skills they need to get these jobs.
“The jobs are already available.”
There are over 600 jobs of those 1,773 jobs which pay $50,000 or more, Romanchuck said, noting the higher-paying jobs should also include benefits along with the salary.
“It’s kind of obvious that if companies have these jobs and they are not filled, they are not growing,” The state representative said. “If they are not growing, it’s usually a death nil, in some cases. You have to keep growing and the only way to grow, in most cases you are not only hurting the local economy and hurting the tax base.
“The individual companies are going to have a hard time being viable in the future.”
Lori Bedson, Assistant Director of the Ohiomeansjobs.com said some of the jobs may be filled because the posts stay up for 30 days at a time. She also acknowledged there is a lack of skilled workers in the area.
“There just aren’t that many people within the Mansfield area that can fill those positions,” she said. “It takes a lot of time to invest in (obtaining those skills).”
Bedson used nursing as an example.
“You need two years of course work and then one year practicum to be certified,” she said. “Also, sometimes they get wait-listed. Three years is a lot of time to invest while needing to continue working or raising a family. Some people don’t have the luxury of not working.”
Romanchuk added that if more Richland County citizens took the jobs, there would be more revenue for state and federal taxes.
“There would be more tax revenue generated — maybe sales tax would go up and income tax collected locally would increase,” he said. “That kind of money can be spent on infrastructure spending all the good things we expect our local governments to be doing.”
Karen Seman, work force development director at Richland County Developmental Group, added the importance of harmony between employers and employees.
“You need a happy marriage between employers and candidates willing to join them,” Seman said. “Often times there is a disconnect between people not willing to work the long hours.
“A lot of positions require some skill set, but not a degree. Wages are not high which makes turnover high.”
