Tri-C President: Cleveland Should Be Ohio’s Career Capital

Michael A. Baston writes in Crain’s Cleveland about city’s potential to attract and keep workforce talent

With a strong and diverse job market, a robust higher education system, a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem and desirable cost of living, Cleveland has the resources to become the Career Capital of Ohio — where people come to begin or advance their careers.

All that's missing is alignment from business and civic leaders, says President Michael A. Baston in an op-ed published in Crain's Cleveland Business.

"If Cleveland's institutions — whether they are public or private, higher education or K-12 — come together as a closely aligned ecosystem with common goals, we can use our respective strengths to tap into the city's boundless potential to keep and attract talent," Baston writes.

Baston explained why Cleveland is suited to become the state's career capital, given its several well-established companies and startup ecosystem. 

Among the supporting points he makes:

• Cleveland is a global leader in smart manufacturing, with 7,000 manufacturers in Northeast Ohio.
• Northeast Ohio has the nation's fifth-largest financial sector and ranks fifth for the most Fortune 500 and 1000 company headquarters.
• Cleveland is home to the Cleveland Clinic, the No. 2 ranked hospital in the world, along with other globally recognized health care facilities and 700 biomedical businesses.
• In the professional service industry, the region has the second-heaviest concentration of headquarters employment among the 20 largest metros in the U.S.
• Food manufacturing is a thriving cluster with more than 500 food processors, including big names like H.J. Heinz, Nestlé USA, J.M. Smucker Company and Pillsbury.
• Startups and small businesses across Northern Ohio created or maintained nearly 11,000 jobs and contributed $1.3 billion in economic output in 2022.

"Cleveland should be to Ohio what Manhattan is to New York, what Chicago is to Illinois, what Atlanta is to Georgia and Boston to Massachusetts," Baston said.

Read the column at Crain's Cleveland Business.

January 10, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu