The stereotype of Toledo as a blue-collar city may still prevail, but as more and more industries join the technological revolution, the image is starting to blur.

“We think of ourselves as builders and manufacturers, so we tend to forget we also are creators,” said Michael Veh, president of the Information Technology Alliance of Northwest Ohio, a non-profit organization funded by the Ohio Department of Development to support the growth and development of the region's information technology industry.

“We forget about companies like HCR Manor Care, Libbey Inc., and the hospitals because they don't have a dot com after their names,” he said. “But they all are high-tech companies with databases and computers and they all employ lots of high-tech personnel.”

Even traditional manufacturers, such as the automotive and construction industries, are looking to computer devices and the Internet to cut costs and improve efficiency.

For example, Covisint, an e-business exchange developed by a consortium of major automobile manufacturers, recently introduced a system that allows participants to handle electronically everything involved in making a product, from ordering and tracking materials to pricing, selling, and billing.

Covisint and other real-time exchanges, Veh says, are major drivers in a paradigm shift traditional companies like Dana and Owens Corning are making toward an informational technology-based economy.

“That change is occurring rapidly and it is creating a lot of Internet-based job opportunities,” he said.

Does Toledo's workforce have the skills needed to handle network connectivity, software, and database operations?

According to Veh, a former assistant placement director at the University of Toledo, “it has some people, but not enough.”

“Most grads want to work at cool jobs,” he said, “ and Ann Arbor, Cincinnati and Columbus are perceived as more high-tech communities. A lot of new engineers and computer scientists are leaving here to go to those cities.”

To help build the high-tech workforce, ITANO is working with the Private Industry Collaborative to retrain dislocated workers for new jobs in high-tech fields.

It also sponsors seminars, tradeshows, and informal networking events that give information technology professionals and business people an opportunity to get together.

The networking parties are held at the Hoster Brewing Company, at The Docks, on the third Thursday of each month from 5:30-7:30 p.m. ITANO provides plenty of free food and guests pay for their own beverages.

Lou Bonanni, who is just getting started as a carbroker, attended the March event to get ideas on how to utilize the Internet.

“I'd been working in Detroit,” he said, “and decided it was time to utilize technology to get out on my own.”

Ian Hartten, owner/designer of Toledo.com, an Internet communications portal site with links to local museums, restaurants and companies, also enjoys rubbing shoulders with fellow entrepreneurs at the networking parties.

“Anyone interested in high-level technology hangs out there. The players are definitely there,” he said.

Hartten registered his site's name in 1995, conceiving of it as “a kind of digital roadmap to find out where Toledo's assets are online . a place you can find out what's happening.”

He has two employees and hopes to add more, including programmers and graphic designers, in the near future.

Hartten attended the University of Toledo, where he belonged to the local chapter of the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs. Out of 15 members, 12 left Toledo after graduation, he said.

“Toledo is like a business,” he says. “It competes with the bigger cities that offer higher-paying jobs and more upbeat lifestyles.”

But he believes his classmates may have overlooked some of Toledo's advantages.

“ I think of Toledo as a Tier 2 city, which is good for entrepreneurs,” he said. “Compared to places like Phoenix or Cleveland, entry into the market is a little easier. Instead of 100 competitors, you might have one or two.”

Other entrepreneurs who attend the networking events have also experienced Toledo's brain drain.

John Gordon and Don Monteleone launched their new business, LeagueBOSS.com - an online software application offering golf leagues, golf outings, and tournaments - in mid-March and expect to have a site for marketing the product in April.

They also operate Critical Business Analysis, a company that sells and implements project management software. Normally, it has 14-15 employees.

“Entry-level employees earn between $35,000-40,000 and with three years experience, they can make $60,000 plus commission,” said Gordon, the CEO. “But we've had some problems finding employees and a hard time keeping them too.”

“Five years ago,” he said, “we hired a training staff to teach project management and within a year one of the instructors took another job in Columbus at $100,000. That's what we struggle with.”

The golf league site is just the type of company Mark Parr, director of the Northwest Ohio Regional Technology Alliance, a support system for technology-based economic development, hopes to fund.

“An Internet-based product delivery company that takes a job everyone hates - which is managing a golf league - and makes a business out of it. It's a wonderful concept,” Parr says.

Recently, he invited Gordon and Monteleone to present their plan at an Alliance-sponsored Capital Enterprise Forum attended by 80 people representing a cross-section of business, academia, and government.

The forums build bridges between the academic research community and the private sector and also provide an opportunity for start-ups to stimulate interest and financial backing.

“The venture capital industry is alive and well and healthy in the Toledo region, but it takes more than that to attract a technology-based company,” he says. “One of the most important factors is a highly competitive computer-skilled workforce.”

There is still more demand than supply for computer-savvy researchers, engineers, scientists and technicians, according to Charles Winters, of A2 Professional Services, a consulting group and recruiter for computer professionals.

Paradoxically, the best high-tech jobs don't necessarily go to college graduates.

“There are no absolute requirement, but typically you need a degree or five to six years of experience,” he said. “Certification also is good, but certification alone isn't really enough anymore, because most companies also are looking for experience.

“People who combine a certification and experience are in the best shape,” he said.

Classes leading to certification in computer, Internet, networking, or medical technology are widely available at local business schools, colleges, universities, and computer-training facilities.

The most important certification for an aspiring network engineer, Winters says, is Novell's Certified NetWare Engineer (CNE) credential. On the Windows side, he recommends the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) program.

The most prized credential, he says, is the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert.

“Once you achieve that certification, you are almost guaranteed a six-figure salary, but to get that takes several years of experience, a lot of studying, and a lot of previous certification, “ he said.

Ian Hartten advises anyone interested in a high-tech career to check out the web.

“There's a huge amount of training available on the Internet and some of it is free,” he said. “At some sites, you take a couple of tests and training pops right up.”

In addition to Toledo.com, his favorites include Cisco.com, Ehandson.com, and jobsonline.com.

First Published April 11, 2001, 12:44 p.m.