News

Since the April announcement that longtime Cleveland-based economic development professional Steve Millard would take over as president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber, chairman Marc Merklin has fielded inquires about whether his board’s choice of leadership signals a move toward greater regionalism. The underlying issue — a persistent worry among some — is that the Rubber City’s identity could be at stake.

On Wednesday, ConxusNEO, an organization that helps make connections between local businesses and education, celebrated five area students who have been awarded full-time employment with local manufacturers company right after their high school graduations.

Cleveland-based KeyBank and the entrepreneur-support nonprofit JumpStart Inc. are investing in Akron with funding for two of the city’s prominent nonprofit groups so that they can launch a project to address unemployment and underemployment among minorities.

KeyBank’s Business Boost & Build program has awarded $120,000 to the Summit Workforce Development Project, which will address unemployment among local minorities.

Akron’s GAR Foundation is lending its continued support to three of Summit County’s biggest organizations: ConxusNEO, ArtsNow and the Akron Art Museum.

About 200 Akron-area educators, related professionals and the businesses that rely on them for employees gathered April 17 for the annual ALIGN event held by ConxusNEO, a regional workforce development organization.

Akron nonprofit ConxusNEO is bringing tech leaders and local businesses together on Tuesday, April 17, to talk about the growing skills gap.

The region’s stakeholders are ready to come together again to look at how educators, workforce groups and employers can work together to build a talent pipeline — this time in information technology.

The software boot camp, which has already established itself in Cleveland and Columbus, says it will start offering software development courses in Akron online this month and will have a physical presence in the city later this year.

Kent State University announced Wednesday that it will create three academies in Akron’s Firestone Community Learning Center, giving students there access to university resources. The university is the latest partner in the district’s quest to find businesses and organizations to work with as it transitions its high schools into College and Career Academies — whether