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When an organization struggles to fill the same position repeatedly, the problem may reflect something happening in the broader labor market, not just its hiring process.

If that occupation also appears on Ohio’s In-Demand Jobs List, an employer may want to look beyond what is happening inside the organization to understand why the position is so difficult to fill. The state’s designation reflects broader evidence of employment demand and workforce need.

Ohio identifies occupations as in demand when labor-market data and employer input point to significant employment opportunity and workforce need. The list is used by workforce organizations and training providers to help determine where education, training, and talent-development efforts should be concentrated.

For an employer, the list can be an early warning that a recurring vacancy may require more than another job posting.

Consider a position your organization has struggled to fill for the past two years. If that occupation is also in demand statewide or regionally, continuing to compete for the same pool of experienced workers may not change much.

You may need to look further upstream.

Could a current employee move into the role with additional training? Could you hire someone with most of the required skills and develop the rest? Could an internship, externship, apprenticeship, or other work-based learning experience introduce more people to the occupation? Are colleges and training providers teaching the skills you actually need?

Those are workforce-development questions, not simply recruiting questions.

An in-demand designation does not explain why your particular position is difficult to fill. It does, however, provide important context. If employers across a region are competing for the same occupation, the problem may be less about attracting applicants and more about the size of the available talent pool.

That is where employers can influence the labor market rather than simply respond to it. They can help define the skills training providers teach, create work-based learning opportunities that give people experience before hire, and build internal pathways into occupations where external hiring has become increasingly difficult.

ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ’s Division of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development works with employers to translate those needs into training, short-term credentials, incumbent-worker development, work-based learning, and other talent strategies.

If you have a position that never seems to get easier to fill, that is a useful place to begin a workforce conversation.

For information on ways ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ may help, contact Dr. Nancy Pratt at n.pratt@csuohio.edu.

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