Ohio Third Frontier Helps Former Auto Worker Retool Skills for Technology Business

Shannon Swift had planned on working his entire career at General Motors. When he got laid off, he had no idea how he would transition his manufacturing skills into a new line of work to support his wife and five children. Around this time, Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technological strengths, was helping Dayton-area Renegade Materials Corporation complete construction of a new facility to bring the next generation of advanced materials for the aerospace and defense industries to market. To recruit labor to handle this new working capacity, Renegade tapped into the pool of displaced workers from the GM plant where Shannon had worked. That’s how he landed a job at Renegade.

After being hired at Renegade, Shannon received on-the-job training to transition his skills to the new technology business. Now, Shannon is working for Renegade’s high temperature polymer business. Essentially, Ohio Third Frontier was the bridge that brought Shannon to work with Renegade. Without Ohio Third Frontier, Shannon says he would still be searching for a career where he could apply the skills that he acquired in the automotive industry. Recently, Shannon spoke to us about his transition into the technology business. Click here to read the complete interview. Click here to read the complete interview.

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• Published under Ohio Business Climate Improvement