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Fairfield County highlights growing pre-apprenticeships as transit launches PINGO app
Summary
County workforce officials reported growth in training programs — including 100 pre-apprenticeship students and a new plumbing pre-apprenticeship — and said local health and education partners are offering jobs and tuition help; transit staff also began a soft launch of the PINGO rider/dispatch app.
Fairfield County officials on May 5 said local workforce training programs are expanding enrollment and employer connections while county transit rolls out a new rider and dispatch app.
Deshawn Toney, deputy director for Economic and Workforce Development, said the Workforce Center has 100 students enrolled in pre-apprenticeships, 230 in career readiness programs, 46 in driver’s education and 28 in phlebotomy programs. Toney said a new plumbing pre-apprenticeship recently launched and that local partners — including Licking Memorial, Hocking College and Hocking County Community Hospital — have offered employment opportunities and tuition assistance to participating students.
“Local employers are stepping up to hire program graduates and support training pathways,” Economic and Workforce Development Director Rick Szabrak said, noting the county’s efforts aim to build local career pipelines.
Bayley Fields, deputy director of the Area 20 Workforce Development Board, described rapid-response work assisting displaced workers after recent layoffs and closures in neighboring counties and said job fairs and hiring events have connected many workers to openings; she noted that Rural King filled most positions at one initial hiring event.
Transit Director Aaron Kennedy said Fairfield County Transit completed a soft launch of the PINGO app that gives dispatchers more detailed monitoring of routes and drivers and lets riders view routes and schedules. Kennedy said staff are still monitoring the launch and had not yet received passenger feedback.
County leaders praised the coordination between workforce programs and employers and said they will continue tracking outcomes as graduates move into local jobs and as transit usage stabilizes during the PINGO rollout.
