Connecting Talent to Opportunity Across the Aerozone

Across the Aerozone, employers in aerospace, aviation, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and technology continue to grow and evolve alongside major regional assets like NASA Glenn Research Center and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Through more than 500 conversations with employers over the last three years, one thing has become clear: companies are looking for stronger ways to connect talent to opportunity while building long-term workforce pipelines that support growth.

At the same time, Northeast Ohio has a tremendous workforce, education, and industry assets already in place. The opportunity is creating stronger alignment between employers, educators, workforce organizations, and economic development partners around real-time hiring needs.

Our Core Observations

There’s no shortage of effort. Across the region, there are strong programs, committed partners, and a shared desire to strengthen the workforce pipeline.

At the same time, there is an opportunity to better align those efforts with the specific hiring needs employers are facing today.

Companies are hiring for highly specific roles, skillsets, and operational needs — often on accelerated timelines. And beyond hiring, many employers are focused on retention and creating long-term pathways for employees to grow within their organizations.

How We’re Approaching It

At Aerozone Alliance, we help connect employers, educators, workforce organizations, and economic development partners so conversations can turn into real hires, stronger pipelines, and long-term success.

Through our Aerozone Talent Partners (ATP) effort, we’re taking a more direct and practical approach:

  • Starting with real, open jobs
    Not hypothetical roles, but current hiring needs
  • Working with employers to define what success looks like
    Including skills, experience, pay range, and screening criteria
  • Connecting those needs to the right partners
    Including Polaris Career Center, Lorain County JVS, Max Hayes High School, Baldwin Wallace, Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Argonaut, and others
  • Connecting employers to training dollars and workforce solutions
    Through partners like Greater Cleveland Works, which helps identify funding and candidate pipelines, and Towards Employment, which provides support services that improve retention and long-term success for employees.
  • Creating a feedback loop
    So partners can adjust quickly and improve outcomes together
  • Staying engaged
    Through ongoing conversations and collaboration, not one-time meetings

What This Looks Like in Action

We’re beginning to see stronger alignment take shape across the region through direct collaboration between employers, educators, and workforce partners.

  • With Curtiss-Wright, we’ve had conversations about roles like wiring harness assemblers, and we’ve also explored wage competitiveness and other ways to better position those opportunities within the market.
  • With Brewer-Garrett, we’re strengthening connections to HVAC training programs to support both immediate hiring and long-term workforce development.
  • Companies like Dearborn are posting opportunities on the Aerozone Jobs Platform, helping increase visibility and access for local candidates.
  • And partners like Argonaut, CSU, Tri-C, Lorain County Community College, Lorain County JVS, Max Hayes, and Polaris are looking for more direct ways to connect students to real employer needs, not just general career exploration.

Spotlight: Momentive Technologies

What started as a conversation around hiring challenges has quickly turned into action.

Momentive Technologies is now connected with Greater Cleveland Works for candidate sourcing and workforce resources, engaged with Lorain County JVS to build a workforce pipeline, and exploring training alignment through Cleveland State University’s TransDigm Advanced Manufacturing Center.

The result is active collaboration around high-demand, high-voltage electrical roles that are critical to Momentive’s operations. At the same time, partners like Threescore Agency are helping attract experienced, out-of-town talent back to Northeast Ohio for these highly skilled positions.

We’ve also connected Momentive to Cleveland State University’s Ohio Export Assistance Program, providing access to student interns focused on global trade and export operations, along with grant support to help offset wages.

This has already resulted in the hiring of a Cleveland State University student supporting international market expansion and helping navigate global trade dynamics and tariffs in real time.

Just as important, this internship is helping create a long-term pipeline for future talent. With the student entering their senior year, this creates a clear pathway to full-time roles such as Trade Compliance Analyst and other supply chain-focused positions, directly aligning with Momentive’s ongoing hiring needs.

Today Momentive currently has a variety of open positions posted on the Aerozone Jobs Platform, ranging from skilled trades and maintenance roles to engineering, HR, administrative, and technical positions, highlighting both immediate hiring needs and long-term workforce demand.

This is what it looks like when employers, educators, and workforce organization, and economic development partners are aligned around real hiring needs.

Why This Matters

From where we sit, workforce development works best when it’s grounded in relationships, collaboration and real-time information.

It’s not just about filling jobs, it’s about building pathways where employees can see long-term opportunity and employers can build sustainable growth.

When employers are engaged, expectations are clear, and partners are aligned, we begin to see a stronger connection between:
interest → training → employment → retention → growth

What’s Next

We’re continuing to build on this, one conversation, one connection at a time.

As more employers share their workforce needs and more partners lean in, we have a real opportunity to strengthen the talent pipeline across the Aerozone while supporting long-term growth throughout our region.

As aerospace, aviation, advanced manufacturing, and technology activity continues growing around NASA Glenn Research Center and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the Aerozone remains focused on helping companies connect to the talent, partnerships, and resources needed to scale and succeed in Northeast Ohio.

Call to Action

If you’re hiring or planning to grow, we should connect.

Start by posting your jobs on the Aerozone platform, and let’s set up a time to discuss your workforce needs and how we can support your team.
https://jobs.theaerozone.org/

Already hiring? Even better, let’s make sure you’re seeing the right candidates, not just more candidates.

Mary Jo Schmidt
Director of Business Engagement
Aerozone Alliance