Vice Mayor Kearney asks administration to compile citywide workforce-development opportunities after Workforce Council briefing

Vice Mayor Kearney moved the administration prepare a consolidated report within 60 days listing all city workforce-development opportunities after a briefing from the Workforce Council of Southwest Ohio.

The request followed a presentation by Beth Yoke, executive director of the Workforce Council of Southwest Ohio, who described the organization’s role as the local recipient of federal workforce dollars and a convener for employers and jobseekers across Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Yoke said the council administers the OhioMeansJobs center and funds training, pre‑apprenticeship and apprenticeship partnerships, incumbent-worker training and youth programs.

Yoke told the committee the council receives about $4,900,000 in federal funding annually and that amount has been effectively flat for roughly 12 years. “That’s been flat funded for 12 years,” she said, and added that the council has turned $1,500,000 in federal workforce funds into more than $10,500,000 in income for local residents. She warned that recent federal changes to SNAP and Medicaid work requirements could increase demand for job-center services without matching funding.

Why it matters: Council members said the city needs a single, public resource so residents and partner organizations can find youth and adult training, cadet programs and internships. Kearney framed the motion as a way to “pull everything into one section” so residents know what opportunities exist.

Details from the briefing: Yoke said the council serves both employers and jobseekers, oversees the OhioMeansJobs center and partners with organizations including the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative and the Urban League. She outlined a United Way–funded youth engagement project that surveyed more than 300 young people and convened focus groups to identify barriers to career pathways. She also reported a planned relocation of the OhioMeansJobs center to a Community Action Agency site in Bond Hill, citing deferred maintenance at the county-owned building on Central Parkway.

On fiscal arrangements, Yoke said the county recently informed the council it can no longer act as the council’s fiscal agent; she said the mayor will be consulted about a replacement. She also described a pilot pre‑apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and ongoing work to strengthen pipelines into construction trades to meet large local projects.

Committee reaction and next steps: Committee members asked about monthly career fair schedules (third Wednesday, 2–4 p.m. at the OhioMeansJobs center) and how the council connects with local chambers and employers. Vice Chair Seth Walsh and Council Member Anna Albee pressed for clearer handoffs for youth applicants and for the city to consider how it might serve as—or support—a fiscal agent if needed. Kearney moved the 60-day report; the chair said the presentations would be placed on file without objection and advanced the motion for passage.

The committee did not set a formal deadline beyond the motion’s 60-day direction; the administration is expected to produce the report and return it to the committee as directed.