The first virtual biomedical job fair, hosted last week by BioEnterprise and Global Cleveland, proved to be a success in attracting candidates to the region’s biomedical field and its many open positions. Thirty employers took 1,785 applications for open positions. About a quarter of the applicants were from outside of Ohio and another quarter were from outside the region, fulfilling the goal to attract new talent to Northeast Ohio.

“Our industry is an emerging growth industry,” says Baiju Shah, president and CEO of BioEnterprise. “Most of the biotech firms in the Cleveland region right now are expanding and we have to bring individuals from throughout the country to meet the workforce demands.”

It’s too early to tell how many applicants were offered jobs, since the participating employers use their own hiring processes after the initial application. “We will track it,” Shah saws. “The employers were impressed with the quality and the quantity of the candidates.”

The job fair was such a success that BioEnterprise and Global Cleveland plan on hosting additional jobs fairs on a quarterly basis. “We’re expecting to conduct this again in late May or early June,” says Shah. “Each time with a different batch of employers.

There are about 700 biomedical companies in the region. Shah wants to make sure applicants from outside the Cleveland area realize the demand for their skills is high here and there are plenty of options to choose from. “The first job they take here may not be their last job here,” he says. “But the demand is there and demand continues.”

Source: Baiju Shah
Writer: Karin Connelly