Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) has been selected to help develop and implement a plan to provide a local pool of skilled labor and create opportunities for careers with family-sustaining wages in health care.

The Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group, a public-private partnership that announced a $2.5 million commitment in 2018 to support workforce system realignment, named Tri-C as the lead health care sector intermediary for Workforce Connect, a workforce development effort led by a number of public and private partners in the county, according to a news release.

Workforce Connect, based on successful sector intermediary models in other major U.S. metro areas, coordinates a designated organization or sector intermediary that brings together businesses within an industry to identify talent needs. The intermediary then works with those businesses, workforce development boards, job development providers, educational institutions, social service providers and others to help develop potential short- and long-term solutions.

The goal is to provide employers with a well-developed pipeline of qualified, skilled talent and to help job seekers understand how they can continue to move forward in their careers, according to the release.

"Based on our research and analysis and engagement with local stakeholders, Tri-C emerged as clearly the best choice to serve in the health care intermediary role, given it is a well-established educational institution with the appropriate resources, infrastructure and access to potential employees," said Deborah Vesy, chair of the Workforce Funders Group and president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation, in a prepared statement. "We believe there is great opportunity for many more residents of Cuyahoga County to establish careers in the health care sector and this is the right partnership to facilitate that progress over the next three years."

Cuyahoga County approved in September 2018 up to $1 million for Workforce Connect over the next three years. These funds are supplemented by a combined commitment of up to $1.5 million from additional members of the Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group, which includes, according to the release: the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Foundation, Deaconess Foundation, Fund for Our Economic Future, Greater Cleveland Partnership, The George Gund Foundation, Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Workforce Development Board, Team NEO and United Way of Greater Cleveland.

Workforce Connect worked with key health care providers to consider the nuances of the industry and ensure provider participation in the partnership. The focus will initially be on talent development to support hospital systems. The initial engagement group includes Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, The MetroHealth System and the Veterans Health Administration. To start, Tri-C will conduct a search for a dedicated staff person to manage the employer partnership, according to the release.

The Workforce Connect Healthcare Sector Partnership with Tri-C is the second such collaboration for Workforce Connect, which announced in December 2018 that it had selected Magnet and the Greater Cleveland Partnership to implement a manufacturing sector partnership.

The health care sector partnership will benefit from the manufacturing work through shared best practices. The Workforce Funders Group plans to announce the third sector intermediary, for information technology, next year, according to the release.

"Cuyahoga County is recognized regionally, nationally and internationally as being a hub for world-class health care," said Alex Johnson, president of Tri-C, in a prepared statement. "That level of exceptional care begins with the skilled workers who devote themselves to the well-being of their patients. We have the opportunity to build on that reputation of excellence with our partners in Workforce Connect while providing Northeast Ohio residents a clear path to family-sustaining careers in health care."

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Tri-C named health care intermediary for Workforce Connect - Crain's Cleveland Business