The Skill Set

April 2026

Dispatch from the CEO

Arena for Greater Cleveland Works is Now Live!

After many months of careful design with input from stakeholders across the community, we’re now live with the pilot of our new platform in partnership with Arena. At the intersection of operational excellence, innovation, and systems-change, our custom build of this technology uses predictive analytics for a human-centered approach to matchmaking between job seekers and employers by mitigating bias in hiring, improving worker retention, bridging divides caused by social capital limitations, and collecting real-time regional labor market data.

We invite you to learn more about Arena for Greater Cleveland Works through this series of LinkedIn articles:

• What is Arena for Greater Cleveland Works?
• The Value Proposition of a Multi-Faceted Tool
• Bias Mitigation, Ethics Considerations and Data Security as Design Prerequisites

We know AI is going to create disruption in the workforce, so now is the time to harness the power of the very thing in question to make sure we're prepared to respond nimbly and effectively to labor market shifts.

We look forward to sharing future updates about this work with you.

Michelle Rose

Chief Executive Officer

Greater Cleveland Works

There have been so many reasons to be proud of our team’s leadership lately, and now here’s another one!

Serena Jezior, Director of Strategic Initiatives, was selected as a Fellow for The Rockefeller Foundation’s Big Bets Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship is meant to equip leaders with the mindset and skills needed to advance solutions with breakthrough potential to connect displaced workers to work, and support efforts to build resilience in the face of past or future economic disruption.

News You Can Use

CMSD Changes

Greater Cleveland Works provides rapid response support for dislocated workers, including staff who have been affected by the recent Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) layoffs. If you or someone you know is looking for their next job, here are the ways our team can help:

• A list of open jobs and connections with employers (ask us about our Arena platform!)
• Opportunities for training and upskilling
• Access to supportive services
• Resume support and interview prep
• A team of expert career coaches to help navigate the process

For more information, please visit us at OhioMeansJobs Cuyahoga County (1910 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland) or contact Kim Buchanan (kim.buchanan@ulagency.org). Be sure to check our events schedule and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for information about job fairs and other events to help with finding your next opportunity.

Working With ...

Keith Laschinger, Cleveland Builds

In this month's Working With video, we talk with Keith Laschinger, Executive Director of Cleveland Builds, about the organization's programs and involvement with the Built Environment Collaborative.

Around Town ...

A Different Town

For this "around town" we're taking you on a road trip to DC where we recently presented with several Built Environment Collaborative partners, City of Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Partnership and Cleveland Builds, at the NCRC Just Economy Conference. The panel shared background on how the Built Environment Collaborative was formed and lessons learned that are portable, practical and proven.