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Season 7, Episode 5

United Labor Agency on Hiring Tips and Bridging Skills Gaps

ULA Gray (1)

 

Guest Name:


Amy Howell

Guest Website:


United Labor Agency 

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Amy Howell, Program Manager at the United Labor Agency (ULA), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss workforce development efforts in Lake County, Ohio, and how they bridge the skills gap through tailored support for both job seekers and employers.

Howell began by highlighting the significant changes occurring in today’s labor market, especially as older workers retire and fewer young adults enter the workforce. She emphasized the importance of inclusive hiring, encouraging employers to tap into talent pools that are often overlooked, such as veterans, individuals with disabilities, those reentering the workforce and individuals in recovery or transitioning to new careers. Howell said the ULA addresses labor shortages by educating employers on the need to broaden their hiring approach and prevent skilled candidates from slipping through the cracks.

Bridging the skills gap was another key topic. Howell described ULA’s “matchmaker” approach—listening to employers’ hiring needs, preparing job seekers accordingly and creating a pipeline to connect both. She countered the common refrain from employers that “people don’t want to work” by highlighting the eagerness of job seekers and urging more open-mindedness in recruiting. Howell advocated for human-centered hiring processes, ensuring that candidates aren’t overlooked due to impersonal algorithms or overly automated systems.

For more from Howell, please listen to the full episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast above.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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